Oxfam Warns of Trillionaire by 2034 Amidst Widening Global Wealth Gap
In its annual assessment of global inequalities, released on Monday, Oxfam International predicts that the world could witness its first trillionaire within the next decade. The anti-poverty organisation's report, unveiled at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, points to a "supercharged" increase in wealth disparities, particularly accelerated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Oxfam, the fortunes of the five wealthiest individuals—Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and his LVMH luxury company, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and investment guru Warren Buffett—have surged by 114% in real terms since 2020. This increase comes when the global population—almost 5 billion people—has experienced a decline in wealth.
Oxfam's interim executive director, Amitabh Behar, emphasised the stark contrast in wealth accumulation, stating, "We have the top five billionaires; they have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost 5 billion people have become poorer." Behar further projected the possibility of a trillionaire emerging within a decade, highlighting the urgency of addressing global poverty.
The report suggests that the increasing wealth divide signifies the start of a "decade of division." If a trillionaire does emerge within the projected timeframe, their wealth will equate to the value of oil-rich Saudi Arabia, reflecting the unprecedented concentration of financial resources.
The wealthiest man on the planet currently, according to Oxfam, is Elon Musk, who has a personal fortune of just under $250 billion. However, the report stresses that nearly 5 billion people have seen a decline in their financial well-being since the pandemic, particularly impacting developing nations that struggled to provide adequate financial support during lockdowns.
Oxfam attributes the exacerbation of wealth inequality to events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which led to a surge in energy and food costs, disproportionately affecting the poorest nations.
With Brazil hosting this year's Group of 20 (G20) summit, Oxfam advocates for an "inequality-busting" agenda, including permanent taxation of the wealthiest individuals worldwide, more effective taxation of large corporations, and a renewed effort against tax avoidance.
The report used figures from Forbes and other sources to calculate the wealth of the top five billionaires, highlighting a nominal increase of 155% from March 2020 to November 2023, reaching a total wealth of $869 billion. In contrast, data from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2023 and the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2019 revealed a decline in wealth for the bottom 60% of the global population. Oxfam calls for immediate action to address these alarming trends and prevent the consolidation of extreme wealth in the hands of a few individuals.