Overview
- Billionaire fortunes grew by about $2.5 trillion in 2025—over 16%—reaching a record $18.3 trillion, a pace three times the recent five‑year average and topping 3,000 individuals worldwide.
- Oxfam finds billionaires are roughly 4,000 times more likely than the average person to hold executive or legislative office, citing recent U.S. policy shifts under President Donald Trump as an example of elite‑friendly governance.
- Latin America now counts 109 billionaires after a 39% wealth jump in 2025—about 16 times faster than the region’s economy—with fortunes concentrated in finance, telecoms, media and energy.
- The group reports that in Latin America and the Caribbean the top 1% pays under 20% of income in taxes while the poorest half pays about 45%, underscoring regressive fiscal systems.
- Oxfam urges progressive wealth and inheritance taxes, tighter campaign‑finance rules, anti‑monopoly enforcement and stronger public services to curb extreme concentration of wealth and power.