Key Points
- The collective wealth of the world’s billionaires jumped 16% in 2025 to a record $18.3 trillion.
- The gains happened while nearly half the global population lives in poverty.
- Oxfam links the wealth boom to the policies of the Trump administration and the rise of AI.
- The report warns of a dangerous concentration of political power in the hands of the super-rich.
The world’s billionaires got a lot richer last year, with their collective fortunes jumping 16% to a record $18.3 trillion. That’s according to a new report from the anti-poverty group Oxfam, which warns that this surge in wealth is deepening economic and political divides and threatening democratic stability.
The report, released just as the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, paints a stark picture of a world where the rich are getting richer at an incredible pace. At the same time, nearly half the global population lives in poverty. The $2.5 trillion added to billionaires’ fortunes in 2025 is roughly equal to the total wealth of the poorest 4.1 billion people on the planet.
Oxfam links this latest wealth boom to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose second administration has cut taxes, protected multinational corporations, and eased the scrutiny of monopolies. The soaring valuations of artificial intelligence companies have also provided a massive windfall for already wealthy investors.
But it’s not just about the money. The report argues that a concentration of political power mirrors that of wealth. Billionaires are now 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary citizens, and they own more than half of the world’s major media firms.
“The widening gap between the rich and the rest is at the same time creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable,” said Oxfam’s executive director.
The group is calling on governments to take action by imposing higher taxes on extreme wealth and strengthening the firewalls between money and politics. Without these changes, Oxfam warns, the world is heading down a dangerous path.
