Inequality advances with three thousand billionaires concentrating wealth, warns Oxfam

For the first time in history, the planet surpassed the mark of 3 thousand billionaires. Together, they account for US$18.3 trillion — an unprecedented level, reached after growth of 16.2% since the election of Donald Trump, in November 2024. The data is contained in the report “Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from the Power of Billionaires”, released by Oxfam on the eve of the opening of the World Economic Forum, in Davos.

According to the study, billionaires’ wealth will grow by US$2.5 trillion in 2025, three times faster than the annual average over the last five years. The amount, notes the organization, would be enough to eradicate extreme poverty in the world 26 times over. The contrast is brutal: while the top accumulates, one in four people faces food insecurity and almost half of the global population lives in poverty.

Political agenda and acceleration of fortunes

For Oxfam, the exponential growth of great fortunes is not a neutral market phenomenon, but a direct result of political decisions. The entity associates the recent jump with the agenda adopted by the Trump administration, marked by tax cuts for the super-rich, weakening corporate taxation, retreat in the fight against monopolies and encouragement of deregulation.

The disproportionate increase in billionaires’ wealth coincides with political measures deliberately taken to ensure the maintenance and reproduction of this wealth, analyzes the report. This is a strategy shared by several countries, which blocks advances in global taxation and deepens inequality.

Stagnant poverty and humanitarian risk

At the other end of the pyramid, the report points to stagnation in poverty reduction, with setbacks in Africa and levels similar to those of 2019. Oxfam warns that cuts in humanitarian aid budgets, decided by governments in 2024 and 2025, could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030.

Rising inequality, the organization claims, is not just a social problem, but a systemic risk factor for economies and democratic institutions.

Brazil: regional leadership in wealth concentration

The study pays special attention to Brazil, which has the largest number of billionaires in Latin America and the Caribbean: 66 people who account for around US$253 billion. For Oxfam, the situation coexists with a historically regressive tax system, which burdens consumption and labor income while preserving high incomes, inheritances and dividends.

Despite recent advances in income tax, the organization argues that the country still needs to tax dividends, large fortunes and inheritances to address structural inequality. The report indicates that there are mandates committed to maintaining this tax structure to protect sectors linked to the production of extreme wealth.

The report challenges the narrative that taxing the super-rich would harm the economy. Although there is talk of a poverty line, a wealth line is not established, in a country where millions go hungry and the concentration of billionaires is the highest in the region.

Billionaires and capture of political power

One of the central axes of the report is the relationship between concentration of wealth and political power. Oxfam estimates that billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold public office than ordinary citizens. In 66 countries, almost half the population believes that the rich often “buy elections”.

The study points out that the super-rich not only influence public policies, but also become directly part of governments and decision-making spaces, shaping rules for their own benefit. Examples include the presence of billionaires at UN climate negotiations and the control of large media conglomerates and digital platforms by a select group of individuals.

For Oxfam, this capture of States by oligarchic interests deepens democratic setbacks, increases the repression of protests and weakens social rights.

Proposals to contain inequality

Given the scenario, the organization argues that reducing inequality is central to national agendas. Among the proposals are the effective taxation of the super-rich, the fight against monopolies, the strengthening of public services, the protection of labor rights and stricter limits on the political influence of big capital.

“The problem is structural. Specific or fragmented reforms are not enough”, concludes the report. For Oxfam, containing the excessive power of billionaires is an essential condition for protecting democratic freedoms and tackling global inequality.