In Data: Billionaires' riches surge by trillions, poor left behind

NEW DELHI - The world's billionaires' wealth grew by $2 trillion in 2024, at a rate three times faster than the previous year largely due to inheritance, powerful connections and corruption, according to anti-poverty group Oxfam.

A report by the British charity, which was issued as business elites gather this week for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, found that an average of nearly four new billionaires were "minted" weekly.

The number of billionaires jumped from 2,565 in 2023 to 2,769 in only 12 months. Their combined wealth has now reached $15 trillion.

The group predicted the world was on track to see at least five trillionaires within a decade. 

Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, Oxfam found, citing World Bank data.

Researchers said the election win of Donald Trump as U.S. president is giving a major boost to billionaire fortunes, warning that his policies "are set to fan the flames of inequality further."

"The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world's richest man Elon Musk, running the world's largest economy," Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar said.

Nearly two-thirds of about 2,900 millionaires around the world also think the influence of the super rich on the Trump presidency is a "threat to global stability," another poll by London-based research group Survation showed on Wednesday.

Billionaires in the Global North own most of the world's wealth despite representing a smaller share of the population.

Oxfam called upon governments to set a new global inequality goal to bridge the gap between the Global North and South, rein in corporate power by breaking up monopolies and instituting taxes on excess profit and wealth.

"We present this report as a stark wake up-call that ordinary people the world over are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few," said Behar. 

(Reporting by Annie Banerji, Additional reporting by Diana Baptista, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst.)