The group’s report comes as a number of the world’s political and monetary elite put together for an annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.
Billionaires’ wealth globally grew thrice quicker in 2024 than the 12 months earlier than, world advocacy group Oxfam Worldwide says, as a number of the world’s political and monetary elite put together to attend an annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.
In its newest evaluation of worldwide inequality timed to the opening of the World Financial Discussion board (WEF) assembly, Oxfam on Monday mentioned the mixed wealth of billionaires rose by $2 trillion to $15 trillion final 12 months.
The report, titled Takers Not Makers, mentioned there have been 2,769 billionaires worldwide in 2024, a rise of 204 over the earlier 12 months. It famous that at the very least 4 new billionaires have been “minted” each week throughout the 12 months, and three-fifths of billionaire wealth got here from inheritance, monopoly energy or “crony connections”.
Oxfam predicted that at the very least 5 trillionaires will crop up over the subsequent decade. A 12 months in the past, the group forecast that just one trillionaire would seem in that interval.
“The seize of our world financial system by a privileged few has reached heights as soon as thought of unimaginable. The failure to cease billionaires is now spawning soon-to-be trillionaires. Not solely has the speed of billionaire wealth accumulation accelerated – by thrice – however so too has their energy,” Oxfam Worldwide Government Director Amitabh Behar mentioned in a press release.
The group warned that the US’ President-elect Donald Trump’s insurance policies “are set to stir up inequality additional”.
On common, the wealth of a single billionaire elevated by $2m a day, Oxfam mentioned. The richest 10 billionaires turned richer by a mean of $100m per day. Even when they have been to lose 99 % of their wealth in a single day, they’d nonetheless stay billionaires, it mentioned.
In distinction, the report mentioned the variety of individuals dwelling beneath the World Financial institution’s poverty line has “barely budged” because the Nineties and the variety of people going hungry is rising.
The report is predicated on knowledge from sources together with estimates of the wealth of billionaires made by the US enterprise journal Forbes and knowledge from the World Financial institution.
The WEF assembly within the Alpine village of Davos, beginning Monday, expects to host some 3,000 attendees, together with enterprise executives, teachers, authorities officers, and civic group leaders.
Trump, who visited Davos twice throughout his first time period and is about to take the oath of workplace additionally on Monday, is predicted to participate within the discussion board’s occasion by video on Thursday. He has lengthy championed wealth accumulation – together with his personal – and counts multibillionaire Elon Musk as a high adviser.
“What you’re seeing in the intervening time is a billionaire president taking oaths immediately, backed by the richest man. So that is just about the jewel within the crown of the worldwide oligarchies,” Oxfam’s Behar mentioned, referring to Trump and Musk.
“It’s not about one particular particular person. It’s the financial system that now we have created the place the billionaires are actually just about with the ability to form financial insurance policies, social insurance policies, which finally provides them increasingly revenue,” he added.
The group known as on governments to tax the richest to cut back inequality and excessive wealth, and to “dismantle the brand new aristocracy”. It additionally known as for steps just like the break-up of monopolies, capping CEO pay, and regulation of firms to make sure they pay “dwelling wages” to employees.
