Billionaires’ wealth increases by $2 trillion

Billionaire wealth rose 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 is the second biggest annual increase in billionaire wealth since Oxfam’s records began.

Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, the charity said, citing World Bank data. The richest 1% of the population owns almost 45% of all wealth, while 44% of humanity lives below the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 a day, according to the data.

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

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

“The failure to stop billionaires is now creating future trillionaires. Not only has the rate of wealth accumulation of billionaires accelerated (three times) but their power has also accelerated,” he said.

The report highlights a rise in “undeserved wealth”, showing that 60% of billionaires’ wealth now comes from inheritance, monopoly or the power of “crony connections”.

Oxfam’s “Takers Not Makers” report is released 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 the way become the world’s first billionaire in 2027, according to a report by Informa Connect Academy. Currently worth around $440 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index indicates.

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

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

Oxfam is calling on governments to commit to ensuring that the income of the richest 10% is no higher than that of the poorest 40% worldwide. Global economic rules should be adjusted to allow for the breakup of monopolies, and more corporate regulations and global tax policies should be adapted 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 medicine “is not only bad for the economy, but also 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. Billions of dollars in untaxed inheritance is an affront to justice, perpetuating a new aristocracy where wealth and power remain locked in the hands of a few,” he said.