Overview
- Global billionaire wealth jumped 16% in 2025 to a record $18.3 trillion, capping an 81% rise since 2020 as the billionaire count topped 3,000 for the first time.
- Oxfam reports billionaires are about 4,000 times more likely than ordinary people to hold public office and highlights growing control of major media and social platforms.
- The group links gains to policies under President Donald Trump that cut taxes and eased scrutiny of monopolies, alongside outsized market wins tied to AI.
- Oxfam urges wealth taxes, national inequality reduction plans, and stronger firewalls between money and politics as protests greeted the Davos forum.
- Nearly 400 wealthy signatories, including Mark Ruffalo, Abigail Disney and Brian Eno, publicly called for higher taxes on the super‑rich, while country analyses such as Australia’s estimate a 5% levy on billionaires could have raised A$17.4 billion.