Billionaires have ‘outsized’ political influence — and they’re richer than ever, says Oxfam

Billionaires' wealth has risen sharply to a record high of $18.3 trillion — with the super-rich seeking power "for their own gain," according to a report by the global charity Oxfam released Monday.

The number of billionaires reached more than 3,000 last year, and collectively they saw their fortunes increase by 16%, or $2.5 trillion, the report said.

Added to this, billionaires' wealth has surged by 81% since 2020, the charity said, describing the past as "a good decade for billionaires."

And while the rich have become richer, poverty reduction has slowed, with levels "broadly where they were in 2019," according to a news release from the charity.

Oxfam also said the super-rich often use their wealth to secure political power as well as media ownership, noting billionaire Elon Musk's involvement in the U.S. administration at the start of 2025, Jeff Bezos's ownership of The Washington Post and billionaire Vincent Bollore's acquisition of French news site CNews.

"The outsized influence that the super-rich have over our politicians, economies and media has deepened inequality and led us far off track on tackling poverty," said Oxfam's Executive Director Amitabh Behar in the charity's report, titled "Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power."

The charity has released inequality reports to coincide with the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, every year since 2014. Last year, Oxfam predicted the world would see at least five trillionaires within a decade and called for global tax policies to ensure the rich pay their fair share.

This year, "Davos," which starts on Monday, will host around 65 heads of state and 850 CEOs, with U.S. President Donald Trump set to address delegates on Wednesday.

"The widening gap between the rich and the rest is ... creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable," Behar said.

"Governments are making wrong choices to pander to the elite and defend wealth while repressing people's rights and anger at how so many of their lives are becoming unaffordable and unbearable," Behar said.  

In 2025, Trump's "big beautiful bill" introduced several tax breaks for the wealthy, with those earning $1 million-plus seeing about a 3% income boost.

Meanwhile, most Americans can no longer afford a "minimal quality of life," according to a 2023 report by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. About 10% of Americans lived in poverty in 2024 according to U.S. census data published in September.

Oxfam called on governments to make national inequality reduction plans, tax the super-rich to reduce their power and prioritize stronger "firewalls" between politics and wealth as well as provide stronger protection for freedom of expression.

The report comes as more than 2,500 people have been killed in Iran since protests against a long-running economic crisis began last month. Last year saw more than 140 "significant" anti-government protests in 68 countries, Oxfam said, which authorities "typically met with violence."

"Being economically poor creates hunger. Being politically poor creates anger," Behar said. 

Rich nations are "cutting aid further and faster than before," Oxfam's report stated. These cuts, including the closure of USAID, could lead to an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, the charity said.

- CNBC's April Roach contributed to this report.