Oxfam: Billionaire wealth hit record $18.3tn in 2025, posing political risks as Davos opens
Oxfam says global billionaire wealth climbed to $18.3 trillion in 2025, driven by US policy changes, and warns the concentration of wealth is translating into political power ahead of Davos.
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By Torontoer Staff
Billionaire wealth reached a record $18.3 trillion in 2025, up 16.2 percent in the first year of US President Donald Trump’s second term, according to Oxfam’s annual report released Monday ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The charity warns the surge in wealth is buying political influence and creating ‘‘highly dangerous’’ consequences for democratic governance.
Oxfam says the world now has more than 3,000 billionaires for the first time, and that the top 12, led by Elon Musk, together hold more wealth than the poorest half of humanity, roughly four billion people. The findings land as global leaders and major business figures gather in Davos under an agenda officially billed as ‘‘A Spirit of Dialogue’’.
How policy changes pushed gains
Oxfam attributes a large share of the gains to policy moves it links to the Trump administration, citing deregulation and steps that undermined international efforts to increase corporate taxation. The charity highlights Washington’s decision to exempt US multinationals from an internationally agreed minimum tax rate of 15 percent as a clear example of policy that reinforced inequality.
‘‘Actions of the Trump presidency including the championing of deregulation and undermining agreements to increase corporate taxation have benefited the richest around the world,’’
Oxfam
Concentration of influence beyond bank accounts
Oxfam warns that wealth concentration is translating into control over public discourse and policy. The report points to high-profile media acquisitions as examples of how tycoons can shape information flows and political debate, naming Elon Musk’s takeover of X and Jeff Bezos’s purchase of The Washington Post.
‘‘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,’’
Oxfam
- Global billionaire wealth: $18.3 trillion in 2025, up 16.2 percent
- Number of billionaires: more than 3,000 for the first time
- Top 12 billionaires: more wealth than the poorest half of humanity
Davos response and public protest
The Oxfam report coincides with heightened attention on Davos after the US president announced a large delegation to the forum. The presence of wealthy political figures and business leaders has drawn protests in the Swiss resort, with several hundred demonstrators arriving ahead of the summit.
Protesters this week in Davos included demonstrators wearing masks of Elon Musk and US vice-president JD Vance and holding euro notes. Nathalie Ruoss of the Swiss Young Socialists criticised the forum’s lack of democratic legitimacy and condemned the inclusion of what she called extremist figures.
‘‘The most powerful people in the world make decisions at Davos that impact everyone. And they do it with no democratic legitimacy,’’
Nathalie Ruoss, Swiss Young Socialists
Oxfam’s warning on political power
Oxfam cautions that the accumulation of extreme wealth creates a political deficit as meaningful policymaking shifts in favour of the wealthy. The charity argues that when billionaires use their resources to influence media, elected officials and tax rules, it erodes political freedom and undermines the rights of the many.
‘‘The widening gap between the rich and the rest is at the same time creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable,’’
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam executive director
Oxfam’s report does not offer a simple fix, but it frames tax policy, transparency and limits on political influence as central battlegrounds. The charity’s timing of the report, published just before the Davos meeting, is intended to push inequality and accountability onto the international agenda.
As leaders and business figures debate global economic priorities in Davos this week, Oxfam’s analysis underscores a foundational question for democracies: how to balance private wealth with public power when the fortunes at the top can shape rules and access in ways that affect whole populations.
InequalityOxfamDavosBillionairesDonald Trump
