Overview
- Oxfam reports billionaires’ fortunes jumped 16% in 2025 to $18.3 trillion, with their number surpassing 3,000 and Elon Musk briefly topping $500 billion.
- The charity says billionaires are about 4,000 times more likely than average citizens to hold public office, reflecting growing sway through media and AI ownership.
- Oxfam links the latest surge to policy choices under President Donald Trump, including tax cuts and deregulation, alongside windfalls from soaring AI valuations.
- The report says billionaire wealth rose by $2.5 trillion last year—roughly equal to the wealth of the poorest 4.1 billion people—while poverty reduction has stalled and one in four struggle to eat.
- In Australia, Oxfam finds 48 billionaires hold more wealth than the bottom 40% and estimates a 5% levy on billionaires could raise about A$17.4 billion.