Total wealth of UK billionaires increased by £35m per day in 2024 – Oxfam
The collective wealth of UK billionaires increased by £35 million per day to a total of £182 billion in 2024, according to a report from Oxfam.
This growth in cash would be enough to cover the city of Manchester in £10 notes almost one-and-a-half times, the anti-poverty charity said.
Last year, four new billionaires were created in the UK, taking the country’s current total to 57, according to the report.
Oxfam has called on the Government to support higher taxation on the super-rich which, the organisation said, could be used to tackle inequality in the UK and overseas and invest in public services.
‘Fairer taxation’
The charity’s inequality policy lead Anna Marriott said: “For the first time, with the groundbreaking G20 agreement to co-operate on taxing the world’s super-rich, there is genuine momentum to implement fairer taxation globally.
“The UK should champion this opportunity to help build more equal societies at home and abroad.”
The report, titled Takers Not Makers, revealed that global billionaire wealth grew by two trillion US dollars last year, from 13 trillion to 15 trillion, which is equivalent to around 5.7 billion US dollars per day.
The world is now on track to see five trillionaires within a decade, the charity said.
On average, the wealth of the world’s 10 richest people, all of whom are men, grew by almost 100 million US dollars per day.
If the 10 men lost 99% of their wealth overnight, they would remain billionaires, the charity said.
Meanwhile, Oxfam highlighted that 44% of the world’s population currently lives on less than 6.85 US dollars per day, according to data from the World Bank.
Ms Marriott said the data revealed a “shocking acceleration of wealth” over the last year.
She added: “The global economic system is broken, wholly unfit for purpose as it enables and perpetuates this explosion of riches, while nearly half of humanity continues to live in poverty.”
Oxfam said its analysis highlighted that billionaire wealth is “largely unearned”, and that, globally, 60% comes from “inheritance, monopoly power, or crony connections – between the richest and governments”.
The charity is calling for a new global UN tax convention which would ensure the world’s wealthiest people and corporations “pay their fair share” along with the abolition of “tax havens”.
The annual report was published as business leaders gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum annual meeting this week and is based on data from Forbes’ 2024 Real-Time Billionaires List.
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Could have taxed them 1000 million and they would still have been better off…
How many of them worked at Oxfam I wonder? For a charity they live quite stylish accommodations abroad in my experience.
“The collective wealth of UK billionaires increased by £35 million per day…”
Is that all ? No wonder Labour and Tory Govs do their best to protect their wealth. Substitute “wealth hoarders” for “wealth creators” and you get an accurate picture of sick rotten Britain.
This wealth hoarding is the reason for this economic recession experienced in many countries. Since growth and wealth of the nation is actually generated by the velocity in which its issued currency passes through the population there will be a stagnant economy due to the hoarding. There will only be growth when governments tax the super-rich and distribute it to the average person. Start now by increasing the initial income tax threshold to £20,000 and take many part-time and low paid completely out of taxation. The tax threshold hasn’t been increase with inflation since Vince Cable forced the coalition UK… Read more »
How is this offset by the net loss of 10,800 millionaires over last year and the difference to tax lost or gained for UK govt to support public services in UK.
Have any philanthropic activities increased or decreased because of this. These are the questions Oxfam should be asking as well.
And these billionaires are either controlling governments, in government or both. The US is a prime example. So long as they are in control – they will protect their position, increasing their wealth and at our expense. Worldwide equality will not happen anytime soon as a result. Our insistence on capitalism and the pursuit of ever bigger profits and growth creates inequality. Changing things will be no easy matter. But it has to start happening somewhere to stop the rot and make the world more prosperous for everyone and not just the few. As an independent country Cymru would have… Read more »
Brexit is delivering in spades. For the billionaires that bankrolled it.