Billionaire wealth surges three times faster in 2024 - world now on track for at least five trillionaires within a decade

• UK billionaires’ wealth increased by £35m ($44m) a day to £182bn ($231bn) – enough to cover city of Manchester in £10 notes almost 1.5 times over
• UK has highest proportion of billionaire wealth derived from monopolies and cronyism among G7 countries

Global billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion in 2024, three times faster than the year before, equivalent to roughly $5.7 billion a day. The world is now on track to see five trillionaires within a decade, the latest annual Oxfam inequality report reveals today.

Meanwhile, according to the World Bank, the number of people still living in poverty - around 3.5 billion - has barely changed since 1990. It warns that progress on poverty reduction has slowed to a standstill and that extreme poverty could be ended three times faster if inequality were to be reduced.

Oxfam’s report, Takers Not Makers calls for bold solutions to radically reduce inequality and hardwire fairness into our economies. It’s published as business elites gather in the Swiss resort of Davos and Donald Trump is inaugurated as President of the United States. This ever-growing concentration of wealth is enabled by a monopolistic concentration of power, with billionaires increasingly exerting influence over industries and public opinion.

In 2024, the number of billionaires rose to 2,769, up from 2,565 in 2023. Their combined wealth surged from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months. This is the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since records began. The wealth of the world’s ten richest men grew on average by almost $100 million a day and even if they lost 99 per cent of their wealth overnight, they would remain billionaires.

UK billionaires saw their collective wealth increase last year by £35 million ($44m) a day to £182 billion ($231bn) - enough to cover the city of Manchester in £10 notes almost 1.5 times over. Four new billionaires were created last year, taking the current 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 report examines unmerited wealth and colonialism, understood as not only a history of brutal wealth extraction but also a powerful force behind today’s extreme levels of inequality. It shines a light on how, contrary to popular perception, billionaire wealth is largely unearned. Oxfam’s analysis finds that 60 per cent of billionaire wealth globally now comes from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections – between the richest and governments. In the UK, 37 per cent of billionaire wealth is derived from cronyism, 15 per cent from monopolies - both highest among G7 countries - and seven per cent from inheritance.

Many of the super-rich, particularly in Europe, owe part of their wealth to historical colonialism and the exploitation of poorer countries. This dynamic of wealth extraction persists today; vast sums of money still flow from the Global South to countries in the Global North and their richest citizens, in what Oxfam describes as modern-day colonialism:

• The richest 1 per cent in Global North countries like the US, UK and France extracted $30 million an hour from the Global South through the financial system in 2023.
• Global North countries control 69 per cent of global wealth, 77 per cent of billionaire wealth and are home to 68 per cent of billionaires, despite making up just 21 per cent of the global population.

Low-and middle-income countries spend on average nearly half of their national budgets on debt repayments and interests, often to rich creditors in London and New York. This far outstrips their combined investment in education and healthcare. The UK has a special responsibility, as approximately 90 per cent of debt for low-income countries is contracted in London under UK law. Between 1970 and 2023, Global South governments paid $3.3 trillion in interest to Northern creditors.

The history of empire, racism and exploitation has left a lasting legacy of inequality. Today, the average life expectancy of Africans is still more than 15 years shorter than that of Europeans. Research shows that wages in the Global South are 87 to 95 per cent lower than wages in the Global North for work of equal skill. Despite contributing 90 per cent of the labour that drives the global economy, workers in low- and middle-income countries receive only 21 per cent of global income.

Oxfam is calling on all governments, including the UK, to act urgently to reduce inequality and end extreme wealth by:

- Radically reducing inequality. Governments need to commit to ensuring that, both globally and at a national level, the incomes of the top 10 per cent are no higher than the bottom 40 per cent.

- Taxing the richest to end extreme wealth. Global tax policy should fall under a new UN tax convention, ensuring the richest people and corporations pay their fair share. Tax havens must be abolished.

- Ending the flow of wealth from South to North. Cancel debts and end the dominance of rich countries and corporations over financial markets and trade rules. Former colonial powers, including the UK, must also confront the lasting harm caused by their colonial rule, offer formal apologies, and provide reparations to affected communities.

Oxfam GB has launched a campaign action, to put fairness, sustainability and equality first. It starts with making those at the top pay their fair share of tax.

Ends

For more information, copies of the report, executive summary, methodology note and interviews, please contact Lisa Rutherford on +44 (0) 7917 791 836 / lrutherford@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editor

Download Takers not Makers full report, executive summary and methodology note

Billionaire data is based on Oxfam’s analysis of Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaire List for the year to 30 November 2024. Full calculations on the increase in billionaire wealth and five trillionaires are on page 6 of the methodology note

According to the World Bank, the actual number of people living on less than $6.85 a day has barely changed since 1990. While the proportion of humanity living in poverty has fallen, the number of people is the same

Forbes data indicates that the largest annual increase in billionaire wealth ($5.8 trillion) occurred in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was driven largely by governments injecting trillions of dollars into the economy

For the illustration of total UK billionaires’ wealth covering the city of Manchester - total UK billionaire wealth is $231.2bn which converts to £181.5bn. A £10 note is 91.08cm2 (13.2cm*6.9). Converted to km2 (multiplied by 0.0000000001) is 0.0000000091 km2 per £10 note. That square km multiplied by (181.5bn divided by 10) is 165.34 km2 which is the total area £181.5bn would cover in £10 notes. According to the Britannica encyclopaedia https://www.britannica.com/place/Manchester-England the city of Manchester is 45 square miles (116 square km). 165.34 divided by 116 is 1.43

Oxfam calculates that globally; 60 per cent of billionaire wealth is either from crony or monopolistic sources or inherited. Specifically, 36 per cent is inherited, 18 per cent comes from monopoly power, and 6 per cent is from crony connections. Crony industries are based on the list proposed by The Economist for their Crony Capitalism Index

On average, low- and middle-income countries are spending 48 percent of their national budgets on debt repayments

In 2023, the average life expectancy in Africa is 63.8 years, compared to 79.1 years in Europe

Jason Hickel, Morena Hanbury Lemos and Felix Barbour found that “Southern wages are 87 per cent to 95 per cent lower than Northern wages for work of equal skill. While Southern workers contribute 90 per cent of the labour that powers the world economy, they receive only 21 per cent of global income”

ILO data also shows that migrant workers in high-income countries earn about 12.6 per cent less than nationals, on average. The pay gap between men nationals and migrant women in high-income countries is estimated at 20.9 per cent, which is much wider than the aggregate gender pay gap in high-income countries (16.2 per cent)