Billionaire wealth surges by $2 trillion

Billionaire wealth soared in 2024 as the world’s richest people increasingly benefited from inheritance and powerful connections, according to Oxfam’s latest annual inequality report.

The combined wealth of the world’s richest has risen from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months, the global charity said on Sunday. It marks the second biggest annual increase in the billionaire’s wealth since Oxfam records began.

Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has changed little since 1990, the charity said, citing World Bank data. The richest 1% of people own almost 45% of all wealth, while 44% of humanity lives below the World Bank’s poverty line of $6.85 per day, the data shows .

As the wealth of the world’s richest people accelerates at a faster rate than previously expected, Oxfam now expects to see at least five trillionaires within a decade.

“The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once thought unimaginable,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

“The failure to stop billionaires is now spawning ready to be trillionaires. Not only is the rate of accumulation of billionaire wealth accelerated – by three times – but also has its power,” he said.

The report highlights an increase in “undeserved wealth”, showing that 60% of billionaire wealth now comes from inheritance, monopoly or power of “crony connections”.

Oxfam’s “Takers Not Makers” report comes as billionaire Donald Trump returns to the White House and 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries prepare to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and close ally of Trump, is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027, according to a report by Informa Connect Academy. It is currently worth about $440 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index indicates

Outgoing US President Joe Biden this week warned of the rise of an “oligarchy taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence.”

“People should be able to do as much as they can, but pay — play by the same rules, pay their fair share in taxes,” Biden said in his farewell address.

Oxfam urges governments to commit to ensuring that the incomes of the top 10% are not higher than the bottom 40% worldwide. Global economic rules need to be adjusted to allow the break-up of monopolies, and more corporate regulation and global tax policies need to be adjusted to ensure the rich pay their fair share, according to the charity.

Money flowing into the bank accounts of the super rich instead of much-needed investment in teachers and medicines “is not just bad for the economy – it’s bad for humanity,” Oxfam’s Behar said.

“Many of the so-called ‘self-made’ are actually heirs to vast fortunes, passed down through generations of unearned privilege. Untaxed billions of dollars in inheritance is an affront to equity, perpetuating a new aristocracy where wealth and power remain closed. in the hands of a few,” he said.