Billionaires are richer than ever, says Oxfam

Billionaires’ wealth has risen sharply to a record $18.3 trillion as the super-rich seek power “for their own benefit,” according to a report released Monday by global charity Oxfam.

The number of billionaires reached more than 3,000 last year, and their collective wealth increased by 16 percent, or $2.5 trillion, the report found.

In addition, the charity stated that the wealth of billionaires has increased by 81% since 2020 and described the past as “a good decade for billionaires”.

While the rich got richer, the decline in poverty also slowed and levels were “broadly where they were in 2019”, according to a news release from the charity.

Oxfam also stated that the super-rich often use their wealth to secure political power as well as media ownership, noting billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in the US administration at the beginning of 2025, Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post, and billionaire Vincent Bollore’s purchase of the French news site CNews.

“The massive influence of the super-rich over our politicians, economies and media has deepened inequality and led us off track in the fight against poverty,” Oxfam Executive Director Amitabh Behar said in the charity’s report, “Resisting the Rules of the Rich: Defending Freedom from Billionaire Power.”

The charity has published inequality reports every year since 2014 to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Last year Oxfam predicted the world would see at least five trillionaires within a decade and called for global tax policies to ensure the rich pay their fair share.

This year, “Davos”, which starts on Monday, will host approximately 65 heads of state and 850 CEOs, and US President Donald Trump will address delegates on Wednesday.

“The widening gap between the rich and the rest creates an extremely dangerous and unsustainable political deficit,” Behar said.

“Governments are making the wrong choices to pander to the elite and defend wealth, while suppressing people’s rights and anger that so many of their lives have become unaffordable and unbearable,” Behar said. he said.

In 2025, Trump’s “big beautiful bill” introduced several tax cuts for the rich; Those earning more than $1 million saw an income increase of about 3%.

Meanwhile, most Americans can no longer afford “minimum quality of life,” according to a 2023 report from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. About 10 percent of Americans living in poverty by 2024 That’s according to U.S. census data released in September.

Oxfam called on governments to make plans to reduce national inequality, tax the super-rich to reduce their power and prioritize stronger “firewalls” between politics and wealth, as well as providing stronger protections for free expression.

The report comes as more than 2,500 people have been killed in Iran since protests against its long-running economic crisis began last month. Oxfam said last year saw more than 140 “significant” anti-government protests in 68 countries and was “typically met with violence” by authorities.

“Being economically poor leads to hunger. Being politically poor creates anger,” Behar said.

Oxfam’s report stated that rich countries are “cutting aid more and faster than before.” These cuts, including the closure of USAID, could lead to another 14 million deaths by 2030, the aid agency said.

– CNBC’s April Roach contributed to this report.