Economics & Finance / Macroeconomics / Fiscal Policy & Government Spending

Global Wealth is Exploding, But Welfare States are Bankrupt: The $15 Trillion Phantom Heist Exposed

Brigitte Unger

This video unpacks the groundbreaking findings from the EU Horizon 2020 COFFERS project, led by Professor Brigitte Unger, which shatters our understanding of the global economy. We reveal the shocking paradox: while global wealth hits unprecedented highs, our public infrastructure and welfare states are quietly going bankrupt. Discover how $15 trillion in phantom investments—empty shell companies in places like the UK’s overseas territories and the Netherlands—are systematically siphoning tax revenue. We break down the infamous 'Double Irish Dutch Sandwich' used by Apple, the moral collapse of tax experts in high-secrecy environments, and why even full transparency can only slow, not stop, this fiscal hemorrhage. This is not a dry lecture on accounting rules; it’s a story about raw power, global inequality, and the race to reclaim the public coffers before the system collapses.