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Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
3,000 billionaires added $6.5 trillion in wealth over past decade: Report
The rich are getting richer by the day, with the wealth of the world's 3,000 billionaires shooting up by $6.5 trillion in real terms over the past decade. The average billionaire wealth rose by more than 1,000 percent since 1990.(Representational image) The data came to light through an Oxfam report. The surge in wealth of the 3,000 billionaires is equivalent to 14.6 percent of global output. According to the report, the richest 1 percent of the global population have gotten richer by at least $33.9 trillion in real terms. The charity said such wealth was 'enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over'. According to figures released by Equality Trust, the UK alone has added 150 billionaires in the last 34 years, rising from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024. There have been strong calls to introduce a wealth tax on the superrich in various parts of the world, and the new data suggests it might be time for governments to act on the demand. The average billionaire wealth rose by more than 1,000 percent since 1990. According to Oxfam, billionaires pay 'effective tax rates close to 0.3 percent of their wealth. The figure is well below the effective tax rate of an average worker. Private wealth grew eight times faster than the net wealth of governments in the period between 1995 and 2023. Oxfam has urged the UK government to address the 'extreme inequality'. 'The government must fairly tax the trillions of pounds that are locked away in the bank accounts of the super-rich and prioritise the fight against inequality, gendered oppression and the climate crisis,' Rachel Noble, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam, told the Guardian. How are some countries addressing wealth inequality? Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa signed a motion at the G20 last year for a minimum 2 percent tax on the super-rich to reduce inequality and raise public funds. Forecasts on its potential impact vary, but a study by the leading French economist Gabriel Zucman found that it could net up to $250 billion in extra revenue. The four countries have called on other governments to support the campaign, saying that a levy on the ultra-wealthy would complement negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy and ongoing efforts to bring in a global minimum corporate tax of 15 percent for multinational businesses. Ministers from Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa have argued that there would need to be steps to counter the use of tax havens, and a levy would be designed to prevent evasion by billionaires who choose to live in, for example, Monaco or Jersey, but make their money in bigger economies such as the UK or France. A survey by Oxfam found that 86 percent of people supported paying for public services by 'closing loopholes' that allow wealthy individuals and large corporations to use tax havens.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Billionaires' wealth surged $6.5tn over past decade, Oxfam reports
The wealth of the world's 3,000 billionaires has surged by $6.5tn (£4.8tn) in real terms over the past decade, according to Oxfam, equivalent to 14.6% of global output. In total the richest 1% of the global population has gained at least $33.9tn in real terms, which the charity said was 'enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over'. The figures come as various governments face growing calls to introduce a wealth tax on the international elite. In the UK, the number of billionaires has grown sharply, from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024, according to separate figures from the Equality Trust, which found their average wealth rose by more than 1,000% over the same period. Billionaires pay 'effective tax rates close to 0.3% of their wealth, well below what average workers contribute', Oxfam said. The charity called on the UK to work with other governments to oppose 'extreme inequality', with private wealth growing eight times faster than the net wealth of governments between 1995 and 2023. Rachel Noble, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam, said: 'This government is in danger of careering way off course on international development if it does not recommit to proven approaches to tackle poverty through public investment and fair taxation. 'The government must fairly tax the trillions of pounds that are locked away in the bank accounts of the super-rich and prioritise the fight against inequality, gendered oppression and the climate crisis.' Last year Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa signed a motion at the G20 for a minimum 2% tax on the super-rich to reduce inequality and raise public funds. Forecasts on its potential impact vary, but a study by the leading French economist Gabriel Zucman found that it could net up to $250bn in extra revenue. The four countries have called on other governments to support the campaign, saying that a levy on the ultra-wealthy would complement negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy and ongoing efforts to bring in a global minimum corporate tax of 15% for multinational businesses. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Ministers from Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa have argued that there would need to be steps to counter the use of tax havens, and a levy would be designed to prevent evasion by billionaires who choose to live in, for example, Monaco or Jersey, but make their money in bigger economies such as the UK or France. Spain's economy minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said during a visit to London last November that the world's richest countries needed to 'be brave', saying recent elections had shown citizens were demanding 'redistribution of wealth'. A survey by Oxfam found that 86% of people supported paying for public services by 'closing loopholes' that allow wealthy individuals and large corporations to use tax havens. The government was approached for comment.
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Billionaires' wealth surged $6.5tn over past decade, Oxfam reports
The wealth of the world's 3,000 billionaires has surged by $6.5tn (£4.8tn) in real terms over the past decade, according to Oxfam, equivalent to 14.6% of global output. In total the richest 1% of the global population has gained at least $33.9tn in real terms, which the charity said was 'enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over'. The figures come as various governments face growing calls to introduce a wealth tax on the international elite. In the UK, the number of billionaires has grown sharply, from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024, according to separate figures from the Equality Trust, which found their average wealth rose by more than 1,000% over the same period. Billionaires pay 'effective tax rates close to 0.3% of their wealth, well below what average workers contribute', Oxfam said. The charity called on the UK to work with other governments to oppose 'extreme inequality', with private wealth growing eight times faster than the net wealth of governments between 1995 and 2023. Rachel Noble, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam, said: 'This government is in danger of careering way off course on international development if it does not recommit to proven approaches to tackle poverty through public investment and fair taxation. 'The government must fairly tax the trillions of pounds that are locked away in the bank accounts of the super-rich and prioritise the fight against inequality, gendered oppression and the climate crisis.' Last year Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa signed a motion at the G20 for a minimum 2% tax on the super-rich to reduce inequality and raise public funds. Forecasts on its potential impact vary, but a study by the leading French economist Gabriel Zucman found that it could net up to $250bn in extra revenue. The four countries have called on other governments to support the campaign, saying that a levy on the ultra-wealthy would complement negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy and ongoing efforts to bring in a global minimum corporate tax of 15% for multinational businesses. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Ministers from Spain, Brazil, Germany and South Africa have argued that there would need to be steps to counter the use of tax havens, and a levy would be designed to prevent evasion by billionaires who choose to live in, for example, Monaco or Jersey, but make their money in bigger economies such as the UK or France. Spain's economy minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said during a visit to London last November that the world's richest countries needed to 'be brave', saying recent elections had shown citizens were demanding 'redistribution of wealth'. A survey by Oxfam found that 86% of people supported paying for public services by 'closing loopholes' that allow wealthy individuals and large corporations to use tax havens. The government was approached for comment.
Business Mayor
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling
B ritain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth. Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It's largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There's a lexicon that sells it all as 'entrepreneurial spirit' and business dynamism. But the very markets that reward the wealthiest so handsomely are constructed and policed by the state. Governments entrench intellectual property rights, strengthen legal monopolies and write policies that benefit banks and asset markets. Austerity was imposed on the many, even as a decade of quantitative easing created fiscal space that could have been used for public good. Instead it enriched the already wealthy by inflating property and share prices while tax cuts benefited the rich. A small correction to pandemic-driven gains for the billionaire class signifies no major shift. Their fortunes are 10 times larger today than they were in 1990. Louis XIV's finance minister said good tax policy plucks the most feathers with the least hissing. It was suggested that the government's small-scale tax rises had triggered a full-blown squawk. More than 10,000 millionaires, it was reported, had fled the UK in 2024. The source? Not actual migration data, but a firm selling second passports to the nervous rich. It is hard to not think such a company feeds on tax panic. Its numbers appear more astute marketing than solid evidence. Labour should be immune to such public relations stunts. Billionaires do not emerge in a vacuum. They are the product of deliberate choices. Property speculation, inheritance laws and tax avoidance schemes are not spontaneous market outcomes. They are often lobbied for by people with access to government, on behalf of those who stand to profit. It's no accident, then, that over a quarter of UK billionaires built their wealth through property and inheritance, and another quarter through finance – sectors that rely on rent extraction more than innovation. The rich get richer because political leaders protect that growth – often in service of their own ambitions. A Britain governed in the public interest must not defer to a plutocratic class. There needs to be a break with the current model. Politicians could, as a start, take up Tax Justice UK's idea for a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10m. Campaigners say this would raise £24bn annually – enough to begin repairing broken Britain. Oxfam says 78% of the public would support such a progressive levy. Yet such proposals are still framed as radical. What's radical is that monopoly profits end up in private hands while the state can't fund public services. It is inescapably true that the rules have been written to benefit a tiny elite. They can be rewritten. If not, then the cost to society risks being paid in populist anger, democratic decay and a long-term loss of trust.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling
Britain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth. Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It's largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There's a lexicon that sells it all as 'entrepreneurial spirit' and business dynamism. But the very markets that reward the wealthiest so handsomely are constructed and policed by the state. Governments entrench intellectual property rights, strengthen legal monopolies and write policies that benefit banks and asset markets. Austerity was imposed on the many, even as a decade of quantitative easing created fiscal space that could have been used for public good. Instead it enriched the already wealthy by inflating property and share prices while tax cuts benefited the rich. A small correction to pandemic-driven gains for the billionaire class signifies no major shift. Their fortunes are 10 times larger today than they were in 1990. Louis XIV's finance minister said good tax policy plucks the most feathers with the least hissing. It was suggested that the government's small-scale tax rises had triggered a full-blown squawk. More than 10,000 millionaires, it was reported, had fled the UK in 2024. The source? Not actual migration data, but a firm selling second passports to the nervous rich. It is hard to not think such a company feeds on tax panic. Its numbers appear more astute marketing than solid evidence. Labour should be immune to such public relations stunts. Billionaires do not emerge in a vacuum. They are the product of deliberate choices. Property speculation, inheritance laws and tax avoidance schemes are not spontaneous market outcomes. They are often lobbied for by people with access to government, on behalf of those who stand to profit. It's no accident, then, that over a quarter of UK billionaires built their wealth through property and inheritance, and another quarter through finance – sectors that rely on rent extraction more than innovation. The rich get richer because political leaders protect that growth – often in service of their own ambitions. A Britain governed in the public interest must not defer to a plutocratic class. There needs to be a break with the current model. Politicians could, as a start, take up Tax Justice UK's idea for a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10m. Campaigners say this would raise £24bn annually – enough to begin repairing broken Britain. Oxfam says 78% of the public would support such a progressive levy. Yet such proposals are still framed as radical. What's radical is that monopoly profits end up in private hands while the state can't fund public services. It is inescapably true that the rules have been written to benefit a tiny elite. They can be rewritten. If not, then the cost to society risks being paid in populist anger, democratic decay and a long-term loss of trust.
