Billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion in 2024—equivalent to $5.7 billion per day—as global inequality reached unprecedented levels, Oxfam International reported Monday.
The release of the report, Takers Not Makers, coincides with the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where political and financial elites gather to discuss global issues. The report forecasts that at least five trillionaires could emerge over the next decade.
Why It Matters
The annual Davos meeting, running through Friday, brings together approximately 3,000 participants, including CEOs, government leaders, and academics. This year's forum follows the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who is set to address attendees virtually on Thursday. Trump, a vocal proponent of uncontrolled wealth creation, will share his administration's economic vision, which includes Elon Musk, the world's richest man, as a key adviser in the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What to Know
Oxfam's analysis, based on Forbes' Real-Time Billionaire List and World Bank data, paints a stark picture of a deepened divide. It notes that billionaire wealth expanded three times faster in 2024 than in the previous year, while the number of people living in poverty has remained stagnant since 1990.
The global billionaire count increased by 204 to 2,769 in 2024. Nearly $100 million per day was amassed by the world's 10 wealthiest people. Low- and middle-income nations are spending half their budgets on debt repayment.
"It's not about one specific individual. It's the economic system that we have created where the billionaires are now pretty much being able to shape economic policies, social policies, which eventually gives them more and more profit," Oxfam Executive Director Amitabh Behar said. "Billionaires are shaping policies that benefit themselves, further entrenching inequality."
Oxfam are using the report's findings to call on world leaders to "dismantle the new aristocracy."
Outgoing President Joe Biden last week echoed these concerns, calling the accumulation of wealth among the ultrarich a "dangerous concentration of power," five years after he first promised to address the issue during his leadership.
As far as where the money is sourced, three-fifths of billionaire wealth stems from inheritance, monopolistic practices, or "crony connections," rather than innovation or productivity. At the same time, Oxfam reports that over 10 percent of the world's population lives on less than $6.85 per day. The group has called for increased taxes on the ultra-wealthy, regulation of monopolies, and wage reforms to address the wealth gap.
What People Are Saying
Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International said "What you're seeing at the moment is a billionaire president taking oaths today, backed by the richest man. So this is pretty much the jewel in the crown of the global oligarchies."
WEF managing director Mirek Dušek stated that the number of businesses from developing countries in the "Global South" was growing, and the attendance of their leaders was "on parity" with that participation of leaders in the developed world.
WEF President and former Norwegian politician Børge Brende said last week he expects President-elect Donald Trump's appearance will be a "very special moment."
What Happens Next
Davos 2025 will convene under the theme, 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age', addressing how artificial intelligence is best applied and invested in a nondestructive manner. Among those expected to attend are nearly 3,000 participants from over 130 countries, including 60 global leaders.
Other topics will include the future of Syria—its new foreign minister is expected to attend—since the fall of President Bashar Assad last month; the fight against climate change; global trade and economic growth, and wars in places including Ukraine, Sudan and beyond.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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