Two years on: What the Titan submersible teaches the world about wealth inequality

Al Arabiya

19-06-2025

Two years ago, OceanGate's Titan submersible implosion killed all five men on-board and during that same week, over 600 migrants died off the Greek coast in attempts to reach Europe.
While the world reacted to both tragedies with solemnity, there were key differences in how public sentiment received the news of each incident.
On-board the Titan submersible was OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
Many people who followed the news at the time can share at least one name or fact about at least one of the Titan submersible passengers. However, it would be surprising if anyone is able to name any man, women or child who died in the migrant shipwreck near Greece.
Did a migrant's life cost less than that of individuals who paid $250,000 for their fateful adventure? Is it fair that one tragedy drew more attention than the other? Is it unrealistic to expect an impeccable collective conscience from a world that is doused in imperfections?
After all, prominence is one of the key criteria to decide a story's newsworthiness. And a once-in-a-lifetime exploration trip to see the Titanic shipwreck was undeniably notable; however, the death of hundreds of individuals in search of a better life ought to be equally prominent – if not more.
All questions aside, the world would be amiss if it did not at least attempt to reflect on some lessons about wealth equality and the costs of human life.
If the American tourism and expedition company was treading the line between bravery and carelessness, are we responsible for the way the world has come to earn and celebrate wealth?
How much is too much in this cruel game of disparity, where most struggle in desperation while few engage in excessive indulgence?
On the contrary, maybe such arguments only arise in hindsight.
If the Titan journey was successful, it would have been met with excitement and awe – as the previous two similar journeys were. In that case, should high-budget exploration be deemed irresponsible just for the seemingly unjustified cost? And if yes, then how would humanity continue its pursuits in science and technology, which have at times proven to be extremely beneficial?
When we get down to the brass tacks, was it just a matter of ensuring safety and ruling out any negligence? In a philosophical sense, was it mere fate? Is it worth understanding and unpacking layers of what-ifs? Or maybe two years on, is it time to learn what the Titan submersible teaches the world about wealth inequality?
A report by the Pew Research Center published in January 2025 outlines the grim state of wealth inequality across the world. Not much about the findings is surprising, but it might be time to concede that things don't need to be how they are.
If individuals and civil societies are willing to make changes about their relationships with wealth, then international organizations and nation states are likely to follow suit. That is not to say that the greater responsibility in the grand scheme of things lies on common citizens, but that it is important to remember that people have the agency to affect change – should they make the brave choice to exercise it.
Conducted across 36 countries, the Pew Research Center survey finds data to back this call for change, with a majority of responders projecting 'deep global anxieties about the economic future and a strong desire for economic reform.'
While 54 percent of people said that economic inequality is a 'very big problem' in their country, 30 percent said it was a 'moderately big problem' – that is over 80 percent people agreeing that it is indeed a problem, irrespective of how big.
In financially developed countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US, a median of 57 percent adults responded that they expect the next generation to be in worse economic standing than their parents.
Meanwhile, in some South Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, people were more optimistic about their outlook on the economic prospects of their children's generation.
A key finding of the study shows that 33 out of the 36 nations polled agree that their country's economic system either needs major changes or a complete reform. This shows that most of us is more likely to believe that wealth inequality needs to be addressed than those who say it is not a problem at all.
The discussion probably raises more questions than it answers, which is not the worst thing to jolt a world in need of some active introspection. Because when push comes to shove, money is at the heart of all that happens. The press follows the money. Individuals work around money all their lives. And because nation states chart their path with money in mind, we give rise to poverty, war and injustice - all things that the hundreds of migrants on the fishing boat to Europe were trying to flee.