Billionaires’ wealth soars to record $18.3 trillion in 2025, amplifying global inequality, Oxfam reports

According to a new report released by Oxfam ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, global billionaire wealth surged by 16% in 2025, reaching a record high of $18.3 trillion. This marks a dramatic increase of 81% since 2020, far outpacing the economic growth of most nations, while the majority of the world continues to struggle with poverty and hunger.

The charity's report reveals that one in four people worldwide still face food insecurity, and nearly half of the global population lives in poverty. Despite these challenges, the wealth of the world’s billionaires has soared, with rising stock prices, particularly in artificial intelligence companies, contributing significantly to their financial gains.

Oxfam highlights that billionaires are increasingly consolidating political power, with the wealthiest individuals being 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than the average citizen. The report points to U.S. policies under former President Donald Trump, including tax cuts, relaxed regulations for multinational corporations, and reduced scrutiny on monopolies, as key drivers of this wealth boom.

The wealth increase is also linked to soaring valuations of AI companies, which have benefited the already wealthy investors. Oxfam's Executive Director, Amitabh Behar, warned that the growing disparity between the rich and the rest of the world is creating a dangerous political deficit, threatening global stability.

In response to these developments, Oxfam is calling for governments to implement national plans to reduce inequality, introduce higher taxes on extreme wealth, and strengthen barriers between money and politics, such as limits on lobbying and campaign financing. While a few countries, like Norway, already impose wealth taxes, others, including Britain, France, and Italy, have debated similar measures.

The report also notes that the combined wealth of the world’s billionaires has grown by $2.5 trillion, which is equivalent to the wealth of the poorest 4.1 billion people globally. The number of billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time in 2025, with figures like Elon Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, becoming the first person to exceed $500 billion in net worth.

Oxfam warns that the growing concentration of wealth among the elite is exacerbating the concentration of media power. The report reveals that more than half of the world’s major media companies are now owned by billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Patrick Soon-Shiong.

Oxfam urges global leaders to take urgent action to curb the rising wealth gap, suggesting that without these efforts, political and social instability may only worsen.