Governments opting for oligarchy while brutally repressing protests over austerity and lack of jobs, charity report says
The world saw a record number of billionaires created last year, with a collective wealth of $18.3tn (£13.7tn), while global efforts stalled in the fight against poverty and hunger.
Oxfam’s annual survey of global inequality has revealed that the number of billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time during 2025. Since 2020, their collective wealth grew by 81%, or $8.2tn, which the charity claims would be enough to eradicate global poverty 26 times over.
But the authors reported that most governments were failing ordinary people by capitulating to the increasingly blatant influence of the rich.
The past 12 months have seen youth-led uprisings against inequality across countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But protests over corruption, austerity, unemployment and high living costs have routinely been ignored and instead harshly put down by governments, said Max Lawson, co-author of the report.
