The wealth of billionaires surged by an unprecedented $2 trillion in 2024. This surge highlights the growing disparity between the ultra-rich and the rest of the world. With billionaire numbers increasing and global poverty barely changing since 1990, the gap between privilege and need has reached alarming proportions.
Oxfam’s report Takers Not Makersoffers a sobering wake-up call. It reveals how extreme wealth fuels inequality, exploitation, and systemic injustice on a global scale.
BILLIONAIRE WEALTH GROWTH: A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR
In 2024, billionaire wealth grew at a staggering pace. Key figures include:
- $5.7 billion gained daily, or three times faster than in 2023.
- The number of billionaires rising from 2,565 in 2023 to 2,769 in 2024.
- Combined billionaire wealth increasing from $13 trillion to $15 trillion, marking the second-largest annual gain in history.
The ten richest men alone earned nearly $100 million daily. Even if their wealth were reduced by 99 percent, they’d still be billionaires.
THE TRILLIONAIRE PREDICTION
Oxfam had earlier predicted the emergence of the first trillionaire within a decade. Still, the rapid acceleration of wealth now suggests there could be five trillionaires within that timeframe.
This wealth concentration is driven by monopoly power, crony capitalism, and inheritance systems that perpetuate inequality across generations.
GLOBAL DISPARITIES: NORTH VS. SOUTH
Wealth Extraction from the Global South
The flow of wealth from low- and middle-income countries to the Global North remains staggering. In 2023:
- The richest 1 percent in the Global North extracted $30 million per hour from the Global South.
- Global South governments spent nearly half their budgets on debt repayments, surpassing investments in education and healthcare.
Between 1970 and 2023, $3.3 trillion in interest payments flowed from the Global South to Northern creditors.
Colonial Legacy and Modern Inequality
Historical colonialism continues to shape today’s economic landscape. Billionaires like Vincent Bolloré owe their fortunes to colonial exploitation, and vast sums still flow from poorer nations to wealthier ones.
- The average life expectancy in Africa is 15 years shorter than in Europe.
- Workers in the Global South earn 87 to 95 percent less than those in the Global North for comparable jobs.
GENDER AND MIGRANT INEQUALITIES
Globally, women and migrants remain disproportionately affected:
- Women are overrepresented in vulnerable, informal employment like domestic work.
- Migrants in rich countries earn 13 percent less than nationals, with the gap widening to 21 percent for women migrants.
UNEARNED WEALTH: THE MYTH OF MERITOCRACY
Contrary to popular belief, most billionaire wealth isn’t earned through hard work. Instead:
- 36 percent of billionaire wealth is inherited.
- Forbes research reveals that every billionaire under 30 inherited their fortune.
- Over the next three decades, billionaires will transfer $5.2 trillion to their heirs.
This perpetuates what Oxfam describes as a “new aristocracy,” where wealth remains locked in a privileged few’s hands, reinforcing systemic inequality.
THE CALL FOR CHANGE
Oxfam’s report outlines urgent measures to address global inequality and curb extreme wealth:
1. Radically Reduce Inequality
Governments must ensure that the top 10 percent’s income doesn’t exceed that of the bottom 40 percent. Reducing inequality could end poverty three times faster, according to World Bank data.
2. Tax the Richest
Introduce a UN-led global tax policy to ensure billionaires and corporations pay their fair share.
- Abolish tax havens.
- Implement inheritance taxes to dismantle wealth concentration.
3. End Wealth Extraction from the Global South
- Cancel unsustainable debts.
- Regulate corporations to pay living wages and cap CEO pay.
- Restructure voting powers in institutions like the World Bank, IMF, and UN to reflect fair representation of Global South countries.
4. Address Colonial Legacies
Former colonial powers must confront their history, issue formal apologies, and offer reparations to affected communities.