Billionaire wealth grew by a staggering $2 trillion in 2024, tripling the pace of the previous year, according to the latest Oxfam inequality report.
This equates to an increase of approximately $5.7 billion per day.
The world is now on track to see at least five trillionaires within the next decade.
The World Bank reports that the number of people living in poverty—around 3.5 billion—has barely changed since 1990.
Oxfam warns poverty reduction has nearly halted and suggests that reducing inequality could accelerate poverty eradication by three times.
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Record-Breaking Growth in Billionaire Wealth
- The number of billionaires climbed to 2,769 in 2024, up from 2,565 in 2023.
- Their combined wealth surged from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months.
- This marks the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth on record.
- The ten richest men saw their wealth grow by nearly $100 million a day.
- Even a 99% loss in their wealth would still leave them as billionaires.
UK Billionaires Thrive Amid Economic Disparity
- UK billionaires collectively increased their wealth by £35 million ($44 million) per day in 2024.
- Their total net worth reached £182 billion ($231 billion).
- Four new billionaires emerged in the UK last year, bringing the total to 57.
Anna Marriott, Oxfam Inequality Policy Lead said:
“Last year we predicted the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade, but this shocking acceleration of wealth means that the world is now on course for at least five.
“The global economic system is broken, wholly unfit for purpose as it enables and perpetuates this explosion of riches, while nearly half of humanity continues to live in poverty.
“The UK Government should be prioritising economic policies that bring down inequality and crucially, start supporting higher taxation on the super-rich.
“Huge sums of money could be raised, to tackle inequality here in the UK and overseas and provide crucial investment for our public services.
“For the first time, with the groundbreaking G20 agreement to cooperate on taxing the world’s super-rich, there is genuine momentum to implement fairer taxation globally. The UK should champion this opportunity to help build more equal societies at home and abroad.”
The Role of Colonialism and Unmerited Wealth
The report sheds light on how billionaire wealth is often unearned:
- 60% of billionaire wealth worldwide stems from inheritance, monopolies, or crony connections.
- In the UK, 37% of billionaire wealth is linked to cronyism—the highest in the G7.
- 15% of billionaire wealth in the UK comes from monopolies, also the highest among G7 nations.
- 7% of UK billionaire wealth is inherited.
Oxfam’s report highlights how colonial exploitation continues to impact global inequality today. The financial system allows wealth to flow from the Global South to the Global North, reinforcing economic disparity.
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Modern-Day Colonialism: The Flow of Wealth from South to North
- The richest 1% in Global North countries (US, UK, France) extracted $30 million per hour from the Global South in 2023.
- Global North nations control 69% of global wealth and 77% of billionaire wealth, despite making up just 21% of the world’s population.
- Low- and middle-income countries spend nearly half of their national budgets on debt repayments, surpassing their investments in healthcare and education.
- Approximately 90% of debt for low-income nations is contracted in London under UK law.
- Between 1970 and 2023, Global South nations paid $3.3 trillion in interest to creditors in the Global North.
Oxfam also links economic inequality to historical colonialism, noting that wages in the Global South are up to 95% lower than those in the Global North for work requiring similar skills. Life expectancy in Africa remains 15 years shorter than in Europe.
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Oxfam’s Call for Action
Oxfam urges governments worldwide to take decisive action against extreme wealth concentration by implementing the following measures:
Radically Reducing Inequality
- Ensure that the top 10% of earners do not have higher incomes than the bottom 40% combined.
Taxing the Richest to End Extreme Wealth
- Implement a UN-led global tax convention to ensure the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.
- Eliminate tax havens to curb wealth hoarding.
Ending Wealth Extraction from the Global South
- Cancel debts for low-income nations to free up resources for development.
- Reform financial markets and trade rules to limit dominance by wealthy nations and corporations.
- Address historical injustices by offering formal apologies and reparations for colonial exploitation.
Oxfam GB has launched a campaign advocating for fairness, sustainability, and economic equality. The organization emphasizes that change must start with higher taxation on the super-rich to fund public services and reduce inequality on a global scale.
