Overview
- In 2025, billionaire fortunes grew at more than triple the recent five‑year pace, lifting combined wealth to $18.3 trillion.
- Since 2020, the total has risen about 81%, with roughly $2.5 trillion added last year as the global billionaire count passed 3,000 and the 12 richest eclipsed the wealth of the poorest half of humanity.
- Oxfam reports billionaires are about 4,000 times likelier than ordinary people to hold political office, citing campaign finance, appointments, lobbying and media control as key channels of influence.
- The report links much of the 2025 surge to U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, highlighting tax cuts for the super‑rich, stalled international tax cooperation, weaker antitrust efforts and gains in AI‑linked stocks.
- Latin America and the Caribbean now count a record 109 billionaires holding about $622 billion after a 39% yearly jump, with 53.8% of fortunes inherited, prompting calls for wealth and inheritance taxes, limits on elite influence and national inequality‑reduction plans.