Billionaire wealth surges to ‘unimaginable’ levels in 2024 as Oxfam predicts emergence of five trillionaires within a decade

Billionaire wealth surged in 2024, as the world’s richest people increasingly benefited from inheritance and powerful connections, Oxfam said in its annual inequality report.
Billionaire wealth surged in 2024, as the world’s richest people increasingly benefited from inheritance and powerful connections, Oxfam said Monday in its annual inequality report.
The combined wealth of the world’s most wealthy rose from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months, the global charity said Sunday. It marks the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since Oxfam records started.
Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, the charity said, citing World Bank data. The richest 1% of people own nearly 45% of all wealth, while 44% of humanity are living below the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 per day, the data showed.
As the wealth of the world’s richest people accelerates at a faster pace than previously predicted, Oxfam now expects to see at least five trillionaires within a decade.
“The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once considered unimaginable,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.
Rating: 5