In 2025, billionaire wealth reached a historic high. This massive surge in wealth accompanied a dangerous shift in political power, with billionaires 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people. Now the super-rich are using their influence to shape our economy, politics, and society in ways that benefit them.
Last updated: January 18, 2026
Nearly half of the world lives in poverty while a select few continue to gain extreme wealth and power. The amount of wealth owned by the poorest half of the world is less than the amount owned by just the 12 richest billionaires. This extreme concentration of wealth isn’t just making life less affordable for most of us, it’s creating harmful divisions. Billionaires, corporations, and politicians are taking away people’s basic ability to make choices about their futures and suppressing dissenting voices.
Oxfam’s January 2026 report, “Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power,” examines how billionaires are driving political inequality and demands action before it’s too late. Our governments must take immediate action to radically reduce inequality, cut back the power of the super-rich, and build back the political power of the people.
Billionaires now have a grasp over all our futures. This extreme concentration of wealth alongside the hardship of many is no accident. It is a product of decades of influence by the very wealthiest people and largest corporations over our politics and economy.
Here are just a few ways their power has manifested:
- Public services are underfunded and privatized in favor of corporate interests. Though one in four people faces food insecurity, as a share of total expenditure, government spending on agriculture has fallen by 10.6 percent since 2019.
- Big pharma and health insurance companies are reporting massive profits for their rich owners and shareholders. In fact, nearly 50 new health and pharmaceutical billionaires were created last year. All of this while regular people struggle to access affordable health care.
- Some billionaires are seeding a philosophy of dividing the working class and all others who oppose billionaire power by spreading racial, sexist, and anti-LGBTQI+ hate.
