Billionaire wealth hits record $18.3 trillion, says Oxfam
Billionaires just got a lot richer—Oxfam's latest report says their combined wealth soared 16% in 2025, reaching an all-time high of $18.3 trillion.
This spike is three times faster than usual and comes as the number of billionaires passes 3,000 for the first time.
Why it matters
The top 12 billionaires now own more than the poorest 4.1 billion people combined, and the recent $2.5 trillion jump in billionaire wealth could end extreme poverty worldwide 26 times over.
Yet, nearly half the world still lives in poverty and one in four people struggle to get enough food.
Oxfam warns this growing gap is "highly dangerous and unsustainable," especially since billionaires are now thousands of times more likely to hold political power—raising real concerns about democracy and fairness for everyone else.