Billionaires' wealth grew by $2 trillion in 2024: Oxfam report

Combined net worth of billionaires rose from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just one year.

Listen to article

The wealth of the world’s billionaires grew by $2 trillion in 2024, according to a new report from Oxfam. This growth rate is three times faster than in 2023, equating to $5.7 billion per day.

The report, titled Takers Not Makers, highlights the dramatic increase in wealth among the richest individuals, with their combined net worth rising from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just one year.

The number of billionaires also rose by 204, reaching a total of 2,769 globally.

This surge in wealth comes amid rising stock values and higher property prices. The report reveals that rising residential property values were responsible for a significant portion of this increase, with real estate investments accounting for 80% of global wealth accumulation.

Despite the growing fortunes of the world’s wealthiest, the number of people living below the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 a day has remained largely unchanged since 1990, affecting around 3.6 billion people globally.

Oxfam warns that poverty reduction efforts have stagnated, and that inequality continues to hinder progress.

Oxfam also criticizes the sources of billionaire wealth, noting that a significant portion of it comes from inheritance, cronyism, and monopolistic practices.

Approximately 60% of the wealth accumulated by billionaires comes from these sources, with monopoly power accounting for 18%.

The report points to the UK as having the highest proportion of billionaire wealth among the G7 countries, with billionaire wealth in the country climbing by £35 million a day to a total of £182 billion in 2024.

Four new billionaires emerged in the UK last year, including business leaders Mark Dixon and Sunder Genomal.

Oxfam’s policy lead, Anna Marriott, called for bold economic reforms to reduce inequality, including higher taxes on the super-rich.

Marriott stressed that the rapid growth in billionaire wealth signals a broken global economic system and called for policy changes that ensure fairness and tackle inequality both in the UK and worldwide.

The report was released ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where political leaders, corporate executives, and billionaires gather to discuss global economic issues.