The combined wealth of billionaires worldwide has surged to a record high in 2025, according to a report released by the independent non-governmental organisation Oxfam ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The organisation warned that this “mountain of wealth” among the affluent would lead to “extremely dangerous” consequences for politics.
The report states that the wealth held by the top 12 billionaires, including Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, is greater than the total assets of the poorest half of the world’s population, approximately 4 billion people.
Oxfam, which publishes a report annually before the Davos summit, noted that the fortunes of billionaires have changed dramatically, particularly due to various policies of US President Donald Trump.
According to the report, within one year of Trump’s second term in office, the wealth of the ultra-rich increased by 16.2 percent, reaching $18.3 trillion. For the first time in history, the number of billionaires in the world has exceeded 3,000.
The charity claims that the Trump administration’s strong stance in favour of deregulation and actions to undermine corporate tax increase agreements have provided billionaires with the opportunity to become even wealthier.
The organisation strongly criticised the decision to exempt American companies from the 15 per cent minimum tax rate set for multinational corporations.
Oxfam Executive Director Amitabh Behar stated, “The growing gap between the rich and the ordinary people is creating a political deficit, which is extremely dangerous”. He warned that immense wealth has now become a tool for buying political power.
The report further highlights that the world’s wealthiest individuals now control news media and social media platforms.
Examples cited include Elon Musk’s purchase of ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s ownership of ‘The Washington Post’. According to Oxfam, this power hands billionaires the key to determining the future of ordinary people, posing a threat to democracy and civil rights.
Meanwhile, intense tension prevails in Davos following news of Trump’s arrival. Yesterday, Sunday, approximately 300 protesters gathered to demonstrate, many wearing masks of Elon Musk and US Vice President JD Vance.
Nathali Ruas of the Young Socialists, the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, said, “It is in no way acceptable that a few people sit in Davos and determine the fate of the entire world without democratic legitimacy”
