The fortunes of the world’s ultra-rich have surged to a record high and now pose political threats, warns Oxfam’s annual report on billionaires released ahead of the World Economic Forum at Davos, which opens Monday.
The wealth of the world’s billionaires went up 16.2 percent in 2025, the anti-poverty group said in its report released to coincide with the opening of the Davos forum, which brings together some of the world’s wealthiest people together with political leaders, CEOs, financiers, and international institutions.
Oxfam says the increase has been driven in part by policies put in place by US President Donald Trump, including tax cuts, “the championing of deregulation and undermining agreements to increase corporate taxation have benefited the richest around the world”.
It pointed to Washington's decision to exempt US multinationals from an internationally agreed minimum tax rate of 15 percent as an example of policies that ignore growing inequality.
"In country after country, the super-rich have not only accumulated more wealth than could ever be spent, but have also used this wealth to secure the political power to shape the rules that define our economies and govern nations," the report warned.
Drawing on academic research and data sources ranging from the World Inequality Database to Forbes' rich list, the report found that the world’s 3,000 billionaires are 4,000 times more likely than ordinary citizens to hold political office.
Billionaires highlight France’s complicated relationship with wealth
Oxfam highlighted what it sees as the growing influence of ultra‑wealthy business figures over traditional and digital media.
Billionaires now own more than half of the world’s major media firms, Oxfam said, citing Elon Musk’s takeover of X, Amazon's Jeff Bezos ownership of The Washington Post, and French billionaire Vincent Bolloré’s control of numerous newspapers and television stations in France, as well as his majority stake in the Vivendi media group..
Oxfam urged governments to adopt national inequality reduction plans, raise taxes on the extremely rich, and strengthen firewalls between money and politics, including tighter limits on lobbying and campaign financing.
Would tax hikes for the wealthiest really drive them to flee France?
Only a few countries currently have wealth taxes. In France, which replaced its wealth tax with a narrower tax on real estate assets, debate over reinstating the wider tax resurfaced during the ongoing politically contested debates over the 2026 budget.
(with newswires)
