Is the world ready for ultimate wealth? It better buckle up. Planet Earth may not have better climatic conditions, world peace, or a fair economy, but it will likely witness the rise of five trillionaires by the next decade. For those who see the glass as half full, this might be welcome news. But for others, it is a stark reminder of inequality. While 204 new billionaires were minted in 2024, nearly four every week, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, according to World Bank data.
The anti-poverty organization Oxfam International reported that billionaire wealth increased by $2 trillion (2,000 billion dollars) in 2024 alone, three times faster than the previous year. Their report, titled Takers Not Makers, highlighted that some of the world’s most renowned billionaires, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk (worth $433 billion), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (worth $239 billion), Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (worth $204 billion), and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg (worth $211 billion), grew their fortunes by an average of $100 million a day. Even if they lost 99% of their wealth overnight, they would still remain billionaires.
“The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once considered unimaginable. The failure to stop billionaires is now spawning soon-to-be trillionaires. Not only has the rate of billionaire wealth accumulation accelerated but so too has their power,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.
Behar also pointed out the rise of a billionaire president, allegedly backed by Elon Musk, running the world’s largest economy. “We present this report as a stark wake-up call that ordinary people worldwide are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few,” Behar stated.
The report further emphasized that billionaire wealth is largely unearned, with 60% coming from inheritance, monopolies, or crony connections. One wonders if the aforementioned men would agree with this assessment or even care. As the Global Inequality Report predicts the creation of at least five trillionaires over the next decade, it does not take a genius to guess who will be laughing all the way to the bank or becoming one.
