Billionaires' wealth hits new peak as their clout grows, Oxfam says

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Billionaire wealth surged at three times its recent pace last year to reach its highest level on record, deepening economic and political divides that threaten democratic stability, anti-poverty group Oxfam said on Monday.

In a report timed for the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the charity said the fortunes of global billionaires jumped 16% in 2025 to $18.3 trillion, extending an 81% rise since 2020.

The gains happened even as one in four people worldwide struggle to eat regularly and nearly half the global population live in poverty.

Oxfam’s study, which draws on academic research and data sources ranging from the World Inequality Database to Forbes' rich list, argues that the wealth boom is being matched by a dramatic concentration of political clout, with billionaires 4,000 times more likely than ordinary citizens to hold political office.

The group links the latest wealth surge to policies under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose second administration has cut taxes, shielded multinational corporations from international pressure and eased scrutiny of monopolies.

Soaring valuations of artificial intelligence companies have added further windfall gains for already wealthy investors.

"The widening gap between the rich and the rest is at the same time creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable," Oxfam's executive director Amitabh Behar said.

Oxfam urged governments to adopt national inequality reduction plans, impose higher taxes on extreme wealth and strengthen firewalls between money and politics, including curbs on lobbying and campaign financing.

Wealth taxes are levied in just a few countries such as Norway at present but others, from Britain to France and Italy, have debated similar moves.

The Nairobi-based charity calculates that the $2.5 trillion added to billionaires' fortunes last year is roughly equal to the stock of wealth held by the poorest 4.1 billion people.

The world’s billionaire population surpassed 3,000 for the first time last year, with Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk becoming the first individual to exceed $500 billion in net worth.

Behar warned that governments are "making wrong choices to pander to the elite," pointing to aid cuts and the rollback of civil liberties.

The report highlights what it calls the expanding grip 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 holdings by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Patrick Soon‑Shiong and France's Vincent Bolloré.

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa, Editing by William Maclean)