Billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion in 2024, equivalent to $5.7 billion per day: Report
Surge in billionaire wealth: In 2024, UK billionaires saw their combined wealth rise by £35 million ($44 million) a day, totaling £182 billion ($231 billion).
Surge in billionaire wealth: A new report from Oxfam has revealed a staggering surge in billionaire wealth in 2024, raising concerns about deepening global inequality. According to the report, Takers Not Makers, billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion last year, equivalent to $5.7 billion per day—three times faster than the previous year.
This rapid accumulation of wealth has put the world on track to see at least five trillionaires within a decade. Meanwhile, 3.5 billion people —nearly half the world’s population— remain in poverty, with progress in poverty reduction stalled since 1990, according to the World Bank.
UK’s unequal wealth boom
In 2024, UK billionaires saw their combined wealth rise by £35 million ($44 million) a day, totalling £182 billion ($231 billion). This wealth is enough to cover the city of Manchester in £10 notes nearly 1.5 times over. Four new billionaires emerged in the UK, bringing the total to 57.
Disturbingly, the UK also holds the highest proportion of billionaire wealth derived from monopolies and cronyism among G7 nations. Oxfam’s analysis reveals that 37% of UK billionaire wealth stems from cronyism, while 15% is tied to monopolistic practices.
Globally, 60% of billionaire wealth originates from inheritance, monopoly power, or crony connections between the super-rich and governments, the report says. Many billionaires in Europe owe parts of their fortunes to historical colonialism, a legacy Oxfam describes as “modern-day colonialism.”
$30 million per hour extracted from Global South
The Oxfam report illustrates the continuing economic exploitation of the Global South, where 90% of the labor driving the global economy originates, yet workers in these regions receive only 21% of global income. As per the report, $30 million per hour is extracted from the Global South through the financial system, benefiting wealthier nations such as the US, UK, and France.
Low- and middle-income countries spend nearly half of their national budgets on debt repayments, often to creditors in the Global North. Between 1970 and 2023, these governments paid $3.3 trillion in interest to Northern creditors, primarily in London and New York.
Surge in billionaire wealth: A new report from Oxfam has revealed a staggering surge in billionaire wealth in 2024, raising concerns about deepening global inequality. According to the report, Takers Not Makers, billionaire wealth grew by $2 trillion last year, equivalent to $5.7 billion per day—three times faster than the previous year.
This rapid accumulation of wealth has put the world on track to see at least five trillionaires within a decade. Meanwhile, 3.5 billion people —nearly half the world’s population— remain in poverty, with progress in poverty reduction stalled since 1990, according to the World Bank.
UK’s unequal wealth boom
In 2024, UK billionaires saw their combined wealth rise by £35 million ($44 million) a day, totalling £182 billion ($231 billion). This wealth is enough to cover the city of Manchester in £10 notes nearly 1.5 times over. Four new billionaires emerged in the UK, bringing the total to 57.
Disturbingly, the UK also holds the highest proportion of billionaire wealth derived from monopolies and cronyism among G7 nations. Oxfam’s analysis reveals that 37% of UK billionaire wealth stems from cronyism, while 15% is tied to monopolistic practices.
Globally, 60% of billionaire wealth originates from inheritance, monopoly power, or crony connections between the super-rich and governments, the report says. Many billionaires in Europe owe parts of their fortunes to historical colonialism, a legacy Oxfam describes as “modern-day colonialism.”
$30 million per hour extracted from Global South
The Oxfam report illustrates the continuing economic exploitation of the Global South, where 90% of the labor driving the global economy originates, yet workers in these regions receive only 21% of global income. As per the report, $30 million per hour is extracted from the Global South through the financial system, benefiting wealthier nations such as the US, UK, and France.
Low- and middle-income countries spend nearly half of their national budgets on debt repayments, often to creditors in the Global North. Between 1970 and 2023, these governments paid $3.3 trillion in interest to Northern creditors, primarily in London and New York.
