Five Trillionaires Predicted to Emerge in Next Decade: Report

Billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion in 2024—equivalent to $5.7 billion per day—as global inequality reached unprecedented levels, Oxfam International reported Monday.

The release of the report, Takers Not Makers, coincides with the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where political and financial elites gather to discuss global issues.

The report forecasts that at least five trillionaires could emerge over the next decade.

Oxfam Billionaire Wealth Report Davos

The logo of the World Economy Forum displayed on a window at the Congress Center where the annual meeting of World Economic Forum will take place, in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The number… More AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Why It Matters

The annual Davos meeting, running through Friday, brings together approximately 3,000 participants, including CEOs, government leaders, and academics.

This year’s forum follows the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who is set to address attendees virtually on Thursday. Trump, a vocal proponent of uncontrolled wealth creation, will share his administration’s economic vision, which includes Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, as a key adviser in the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

What to Know

Oxfam’s analysis, based on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaire List and World Bank data, paints a stark picture of a deepened divide.

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It notes that billionaire wealth expanded three times faster in 2024 than in the previous year, while the number of people living in poverty has remained stagnant since 1990.

The global billionaire count increased by 204 to 2,769 in 2024. Nearly $100 million per day was amassed by the world’s 10 wealthiest people. Low- and middle-income nations are spending half their budgets on debt repayment.

“It’s not about one specific individual.

“It’s the economic system that we have created where the billionaires are now pretty much being able to shape economic policies, social policies, which eventually gives them more and more profit,” Oxfam Executive Director Amitabh Behar said.

“Billionaires are shaping policies that benefit themselves, further entrenching inequality.”

Oxfam are using the report’s findings to call on world leaders to “dismantle the new aristocracy.”

-Newsweek