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The world’s top companies are using their monopoly power in their markets to hike prices and keep them high amid inflation and a cost of living crisis. In the five years to 2022, for the world’s top 20 companies, the average “markup” has risen to around 50 per cent.

The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020 —at a rate of $14 million per hour— while nearly five billion people have been made poorer.