Overview
- Oxfam says the number of billionaires topped 3,000 in 2025 and their combined wealth reached $18.3 trillion, up 16% in a year and 81% since 2020.
- The report finds the 12 richest people hold more wealth than the poorest half of humanity and warns this concentration erodes political rights.
- Oxfam estimates ultra‑rich individuals are over 4,000 times likelier than ordinary citizens to hold political office and can buy access to institutions and media.
- In France, the NGO reports that 53 billionaires are richer than more than 32 million people and that their fortunes have doubled since 2017, as INSEE puts the 2023 poverty rate at 15.4%.
- The report criticizes Trump-era and planned U.S. tax cuts and notes some multinationals were exempted from a 15% global minimum tax, while Oxfam urges measures such as a Zucman‑style wealth tax and higher taxes on dividends, transactions, and large inheritances.