Billionaire wealth across the globe surged by $2 trillion in 2024 to $15 trillion at a rate three times faster than the previous year, a study showed on Monday.
The report was unveiled at a time when the richest of the world began to assemble in Davos for their annual jamboree in the ski resort town.
There is increasing disparity in the world today as an “aristocratic oligarchy” is amassing wealth at unforeseen levels, the report published by development organisation Oxfam said.
The report, titled “Takers Not Makers” said while the richest 1 percent now own 45 percent of global wealth, 44 percent of humanity lives on less than $6.85 per day, and global poverty rates have barely changed since 1990.
“We present this report as a stark wake up-call that ordinary people the world over are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few,” Amitabh Behar, Executive Director at Oxfam, said.
Another point raised in the report was the assertion that trillionaires are expected to emerge within the next decade, as the wealth of the richest 10 billionaires grew by $100 million per day on average, over the last 10 years.
Last year saw the emergence of 204 new billionaires, with total billionaire wealth increasing by $2 trillion in 2024.
Behar warned that an economic system has been created where “billionaires are now pretty much being able to shape economic policies, social policies, which eventually gives them more and more profit”.
The report also pointed out that one in ten women globally lives in extreme poverty, earning less than $2.15 a day.
It further added that women provide 12.5 billion hours a day of unpaid labour, adding an estimated $10.8 trillion to the global economy, three times the global tech industry’s value.
US President Donald Trump also found a mention in the Oxfam report as his policies, including tax cuts and deregulation, are being criticised for potentially fuelling inequality and further enriching billionaires — including Elon Musk — a major supporter of Trump’s reelection campaign.
“The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, running the world’s largest economy,” Behar said.
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