Billionaires’ wealth has risen sharply to a record high of $18.3 trillion — with the super-rich seeking power “for their own gain,” according to a report by the global charity Oxfam released Monday.
The number of billionaires reached more than 3,000 last year, and collectively they saw their fortunes increase by 16%, or $2.5 trillion, the report said.
Added to this, billionaires’ wealth has surged by 81% since 2020, the charity said, describing the past as “a good decade for billionaires.”
And while the rich have become richer, poverty reduction has slowed, with levels “broadly where they were in 2019,” according to a news release from the charity.
Oxfam also said the super-rich often use their wealth to secure political power as well as media ownership, noting billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. administration at the start of 2025, Jeff Bezos’s ownership of The Washington Post and billionaire Vincent Bollore’s acquisition of French news site CNews.
