Final answer:
The income gap in wealthy oil-rich countries is due to wealth concentration among the richest citizens and can be exacerbated by trade policies of high-income countries, leading to uneven economic growth and distribution of resources.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks why there is an income gap in wealthy oil-rich countries. In these nations, like in the United States, wealth tends to be concentrated among the richest citizens, sometimes because of favorable trade policies and economic strategies that benefit a select group. This concentration of wealth can lead to a broadening income gap where the rich get richer while the middle and lower classes do not see the same economic growth. Oftentimes, it's not just about the availability of resources but about the distribution of income and opportunities. While some countries may prosper through oil sales, not all citizens benefit equally, which can be aggravated further by the trade policies of high-income countries. These policies can sometimes undermine the economic stability of poorer countries, according to Oxfam International.
Economic inequalities are staggering when considering that a small number of people hold more wealth than billions of others. For instance, the 2014 Oxfam report noted that the richest eighty-five people in the world have more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion combined. Such imbalances pose significant challenges to improving standards of living and lifting the world's poor from poverty.