Billionaires' wealth grew three times faster in 2024 than the year before, a top anti-poverty group reported, as they added $2 trillion (£1.64 trillion) to their riches.
Oxfam also predicts at least five trillionaires will emerge over the next decade. A year ago, the group forecast that only one trillionaire would appear during that time.
Oxfam's research follows a warning by outgoing President Joe Biden last week of a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people.” The group's critical report also says the number of people in poverty has barely budged since 1990.
The report comes ahead of the annual gathering of the rich and powerful at Davos, in Switzerland.
The World Economic Forum expects to host 3,000 business executives, academics, government officials and politicians.
Donald Trump, who visited Davos twice during his first term and was set to take the oath of office on Monday, is expected to take part in the forum's event by video on Thursday. He has long championed wealth accumulation — including his own — and appointed multibillionaire and world’s richest person Elon Musk as a top adviser.
Mr Musk’s wealth surged last year to hit $486bn, a gain of $257bn. His fellow tech entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezon, the Amazon founder added $91bn and $73bn to thier personal fortunes, according to Business Insider.
“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,” Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam, said.
“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,” he added.
Oxfam called on governments to tax the richest to reduce inequality and extreme wealth, and to “dismantle the new aristocracy.”
The group called for steps like the break-up of monopolies, capping CEO pay, and regulation of corporations to ensure they pay “living wages” to workers.
Many investors racked up strong gains in 2024, with strong performances for top tech companies and stock-market indexes like the S&P 500, as well as the price of gold.
The number of billionaires rose by 204 to 2,769, and the 10 richest men saw their wealth rise nearly $100 million a day on average, it said.
Citing World Bank data, the group pointed to lingering poverty, saying the number of people living on less than $6.85 per day has “barely changed” since 1990.
By contrast, at least four new billionaires were minted every week in 2024, and three-fifths of billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, monopoly power or “crony connections,” it said.
Trump's return for a second term will likely be a talking point in Davos, as will lingering conflicts, including wars in Ukraine and Sudan, along with hopes for a continuation of a cease-fire that began on Sunday between Hamas and Israel, pausing their devastating 15-month war in Gaza.
Forum organizers last week issued a survey conducted among 900 experts for “Global Risks Report,” which found that conflicts between countries was the top concern, followed by extreme weather, economic confrontation, misinformation and disinformation, and “societal polarization” — a nod to the gap between rich and poor.
As in past years, protesters calling for more economic equality, taxing the rich and pressing other demands took to the streets. Some blocked roads to Davos, snarling traffic in places and delaying trips for some attendees to the event, which runs through Friday.
