The World Bank’s Weird Way of Helping the Poor—Investing in Luxury Hotels

In these International Finance Corporation-funded properties, a three-night stay costs more than locals earn in a year.

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Over the years, the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, has sunk more than $1 billion into luxury hotels in the developing world. These projects, like all of those undertaken by the IFC, are supposed to boost “shared prosperity.” But the returns for the poor living in those countries have been largely disappointing. A 2011 report from the World Bank’s internal watchdog found that while most projects brought “satisfactory economic returns,” they did not “provide evidence of identifiable opportunities for the poor.”

The real beneficiaries of the World Bank’s investment in the private sector are the moguls who have reaped the profits, who offer nightly stays at idyllic resorts marked by extravagance—a chance to relax and overlook the clear blue water off an island in Maldives, or to stroll through manicured gardens toward a tranquil spa in the heart of Kabul.

Here’s a sampling, bankrolled in the name of raising people out of poverty.

Taj Exotica and Vivanta By Taj Coral Reef (Maldives)