According to Oxfam's latest inequality report, the average daily income of billionaires worldwide reached a staggering $3.2 million (approximately $2 million USD) last year. Among them, the top 10 wealthiest individuals, all of whom are men, earned over $150 million per day. This speed and scale of wealth accumulation is unattainable for the average person.
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02-08, 2025The report points out that even if someone had saved $1,600 every day since the emergence of humans 315,000 years ago, they still wouldn't have accumulated enough wealth to break into the top ten. This report was released as political and business leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the highly anticipated World Economic Forum.
Globally, the total wealth of billionaires increased by $3 trillion last year, equivalent to an increase of approximately $8.4 billion per day. This growth rate is three times that of the previous year and the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth on record. Last year, 204 new billionaires were added, averaging nearly four per week. Forbes' list shows that the top five richest people last year were: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and his family, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Lyn Morgain, Chief Executive of Oxfam Australia, stated, "The pinnacle of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, supported and bought by the world's richest man, Elon Musk, running the world's largest economy." The report also noted that Australia's 47 billionaires earned an average of $67,000 per hour, 1,300 times the income of an average Australian worker. Mining magnate Gina Rinehart remains Australia's richest person and the 56th richest in the world, with a net worth of $47.3 billion.
The report found that last year, the total wealth of Australian billionaires grew by over 8%, or $28 billion, equivalent to a growth of $3.2 million per hour. Ms. Morgain pointed out that the "rapid growth" of Australian billionaire wealth is a "legacy of colonization," with 35% of billionaire wealth being inherited. "There's a connection between this concentration of wealth and Australia's extractive industries. There's a particular history to this in Australia in that all of our billionaires have made their wealth from digging things out of the ground," she said.
Ms. Morgain believes that even a 2% to 5% wealth tax in Australia would not make any difference to these wealthy individuals, but it would make a huge difference to the Australian public. She also mentioned that historically, politicians have been very reluctant to impose wealth taxes on the super-rich due to the notion that "they shouldn't be penalized" and that their wealth is deserved. However, she believes that this view is outdated, as many Australians are now concerned that corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes.
Ms. Morgain stated that wealth taxes, which were previously considered "fringe socialist proposals," have now become a "common discussion." She believes that the government has been reluctant to impose taxes because it has been seen as a radical proposal. But times have changed significantly, and the cost-of-living crisis has had an impact. The latest report, "Predators Not Creators," focuses on the ability of the world's wealthiest countries and individuals to continue accumulating wealth, often at the expense of the Global South.
The report points out that the "unearned nature" of many super-rich individuals' enormous wealth can be seen as a result of colonialism and its impacts. "Today, the majority of billionaires still live in the wealthy countries of the Global North, even though these countries account for only one-fifth of the global population." The report reveals the widening gap between the world's richest and poorest people. World Bank data shows that the number of people living in poverty has remained almost unchanged since 1990, with over 3.5 billion people, or 44% of humanity, still living in poverty. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 1% own 45% of the world's wealth.
The report argues that "the profound inequalities that exist between the rich and the rest of society, between wealthy countries and the Global South, and within countries of the Global South, are a legacy of historical colonialism." The report also points out that in 1820, the earliest period for which data is available, the income of the wealthiest 10% of the world was 18 times that of the poorest 50%; by 2020, this gap had widened to 38 times. The report uses Haiti as an example to illustrate the impact of colonialism on global wealth inequality. After Haiti abolished slavery and gained independence from France, Haiti was forced to borrow 150 million francs (equivalent to approximately $34 billion today) from France to compensate slave owners. 80% of this was paid to the wealthiest slave owners, creating "a cycle of debt and disaster that continues to this day."
The report also criticizes the work of global financial organizations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The G7 countries still hold 41% of the voting power at the IMF and World Bank, despite accounting for less than 10% of the world's population." "The leaders of the World Bank and the IMF are still decided by the United States and Europe, respectively." "Similarly, Europe and other Global North countries hold a total of 47% of the seats on the UN Security Council, even though they account for only 17% of the global population."
