The wealth of billionaires around the world rose by $2 trillion in 2024 to $15 trillion at a rate three times faster than the previous year, a study showed here Monday as the world’s richest began to gather. for their annual meeting in this ski resort town.
In its landmark inequality report, released each year on the first day of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, Oxfam International contrasted the huge jump in the wealth of billionaires with the number of people living in poverty, which has barely changed since 1990. .
The wealth of billionaires in Asia will increase by $299 billion in 2024, Oxfam said, while predicting there will be at least five billionaires within a decade.
In the year 2024, 204 new billionaires will be created, an average of almost four every week. Asia itself gained 41 new billionaires in the year.
In its report titled ‘Takers, not Makers’, Oxfam said the richest 1% in the North World extracted $30 million per hour from the South World through financial systems in 2023.
He further said that 60% of billionaires’ wealth now derives from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections, showing that “the extreme wealth of billionaires is largely undeserved.” The rights group urged governments around the world to tax the richest to reduce inequality, end extreme wealth and dismantle the new aristocracy.
It also sought for former colonial powers to address past harms with reparations.
Billionaire wealth grew in 2024 to an average of $5.7 billion a day, while the number of billionaires rose to 2,769, from 2,565 in 2023.
Wealth of the ten richest men in the world
The wealth of the ten richest men in the world grew on average almost $100 million a day; Even if they lost 99% of their wealth overnight, they would still be billionaires, Oxfam said.
Oxfam, whose annual report on inequality is discussed at length at the WEF annual meeting, said that contrary to popular perception, billionaires’ wealth is largely undeserved: 60% of billionaires’ wealth now comes from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections.
Undeserved wealth and colonialism, understood not only as a history of brutal wealth extraction but also as a powerful force behind today’s extreme levels of inequality, are two important drivers of the accumulation of multi-trillion-dollar wealth, he said.
“The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached levels once considered unimaginable. The failure to stop billionaires is now creating future trillionaires. Not only has the rate of wealth accumulation of billionaires accelerated – three times – but they also have their power,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.
“The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who runs the world’s largest economy. “We present this report as a stark wake-up call that ordinary people around the world are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a few,” he said.
Inherited wealth of billionaires
Oxfam estimated that 36% of billionaires’ wealth is currently inherited.
He said Forbes research found that every billionaire under the age of 30 has inherited his wealth, while UBS estimated that more than 1,000 of today’s billionaires will pass on more than $5.2 trillion to their heirs over the next two or three years. decades.
“Many of the super-rich, especially in Europe, owe some of their wealth to historical colonialism and the exploitation of poorer countries,” Oxfam said.
Billionaires and the right
He cited the example of the fortune of billionaire Vincent Bollore, who has put his growing media empire at the service of the French nationalist right, which was built in part on colonial activities in Africa.
Oxfam called it modern colonialism and said huge sums of money still flow from the South World to North World countries and their richest citizens.
The richest 1% of North World countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and France extracted $30 million per hour from the South World through the financial system in 2023, Oxfam said.
North World countries control 69% of the world’s wealth, 77% of billionaires’ wealth and are home to 68% of billionaires, despite representing only 21% of the world’s population, according to the study.
Behar said the money every country desperately needs to invest in teachers, buy medicine and create good jobs is being diverted to the bank accounts of the super-rich.
“This is not only bad for the economy, but also for humanity,” he said.
Oxfam cited World Bank data showing that the current number of people living on less than $6.85 a day has barely changed since 1990.
Citing data from Forbes, he said the largest annual increase in billionaire wealth came in 2021 at $5.8 trillion, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and called the $2 trillion increase in 2024 the second highest.
He said that 60% of billionaires’ wealth comes from crony or monopolistic sources or inherited: 36% is inherited, 18% from monopoly power and 6% from crony connections.
Women in the casual economy and migrant workers
Oxfam further cited the ILO to say that women in the casual economy are more often found in the most vulnerable situations, for example as domestic workers, home-based workers or contributing family workers, than their male counterparts.
ILO data also shows that migrant workers in high-income countries earn around 12.6% less than nationals, on average, Oxfam said.
The pay gap between national men and immigrant women in high-income countries is estimated at 20.9%, much wider than the aggregate gender pay gap in high-income countries (16.2%), it added. .
Published – January 20, 2025 10:15 am IST