Oxfam’s annual report predicts that five people will reach the $1 trillion mark in the next decade. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest with a fortune of $430 billion, will reach this milestone in the next five years, the report said.
Elon Musk will be joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and their families.
Oxfam report and rising inequality:
Oxfam’s report was released on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The forum brings together the world’s richest people and world leaders.
2024 is a financially beneficial year for billionaires. The boom in the US stock market led to an unprecedented increase in his wealth. This rapid increase in wealth overturned last year’s forecast by Oxfam, which said a single trillion dollar net worth would emerge.
Rapid expansion of billionaires:
The number of billionaires worldwide will increase by 200 to 2,770 in 2023. Their net worth increased by $2.1 trillion, more than three times what it was in 2022. America alone has 816 billionaires, adding $1.4 trillion to their wealth.
Interestingly, even if any of the 10 richest people in the world lost 99% of their wealth, they would still be billionaires, Oxfam said in the report.
Inheritance and growing inequality in wealth:
In 2023, the majority of first-time billionaires will have inherited wealth. 17 billionaires under 30 inherited their entire fortune.
Since many countries do not have inheritance taxes, wealth is easily transferred from one generation to the next. In America, various strategies are used to reduce or avoid estate tax. Oxfam has strongly criticized this and demanded that governments should levy a fair tax on wealth.
Influence of the rich on politics:
Oxfam also revealed the influence of the rich on politics in the report. In particular, President-elect Donald Trump’s administration has nearly a dozen billionaires, making it the richest administration in America.
Elon Musk contributed $260 million to Trump in the 2024 election. Musk is now playing a key role in Trump’s administration, co-chairing the Department of Government Efficiency.
A threat to democracy:
In his farewell speech, outgoing President Joe Biden warned of the threat to democracy posed by a wealthy minority. “Democracy is threatened in America today by a minority of the wealthy and in power. This disparity is a serious challenge to society,” he said.
Remedies needed:
Oxfam has called for fair taxation of wealthy individuals and corporates as a solution. “If left unchecked, we will witness the largest transfer of wealth in human history,” Oxfam’s senior policy leaders said.
Growing wealth and inequality are a concern. The expected list of trillion dollar net worth holders is not just a display of economic status, but a warning of growing social and economic inequality. If left unaddressed, the situation could become more difficult for the poor and middle class around the world.