A study published by the Oxfam Development Organization on Monday showed that the wealth of the world’s richest people is increasing at a faster pace than ever before, ahead of the launch of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
According to the report, the number of billionaires in the world will reach 2,769 in 2024, an increase of 204 compared to the previous year.
At the same time, the number of people living below the poverty line set by the World Bank has remained stable, while the number of people suffering from hunger has risen.
Oxfam predicted that there will be at least 5 people around the world whose wealth will reach $1 trillion after 10 years.
Oxfam’s report relies on data from various sources, including estimates of the wealth of billionaires conducted by the American magazine “Forbes” and data from the World Bank.
The total wealth of billionaires rose from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in 2024 alone.
According to the report:
- The total wealth of billionaires rose from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in 2024 alone, a growth rate 3 times faster than the previous year.
- On average, a billionaire’s wealth increased by $2 million per day.
- The 10 richest billionaires are becoming richer by $100 million a day. Even if they lost 99% of their wealth overnight, they would still be billionaires, according to Oxfam.
- 60% of billionaires’ money comes from “inheritance, monopoly power, or patronage relationships.”
- According to Oxfam, 36% of the wealth of billionaires in the world comes from inheritance. This is most evident in the European Union, where 75% of wealth comes from unearned sources and 69% comes from inheritance alone.
“The wealth of billionaires is increasing, and the bottom line is that most of the wealth is not acquired, but inherited,” said Chiara Butatoro, a tax expert at Oxfam European Union.
“At the same time, the number of people living in poverty around the world has remained almost unchanged since the 1990s,” she added.
“EU leaders need to tax the wealth of the ultra-rich more, including inheritance. Without this, we risk seeing an ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and ordinary Europeans,” she added.
