Billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people, according to new research by Oxfam.
The charity found that the 12 richest billionaires globally own more wealth than the poorest half of humanity – constituting 4.1 billion people – while their collective wealth grew by $2.5 trillion dollars last year.
The report comes as the World Economic Forum opens in Davos.
Billionaire wealth jumped to its highest level ever at $18.3 trillion last year, while one in four people regularly do not have enough to eat and nearly half of the world’s population live in poverty.
“The widening gap between the rich and the rest is at the same time creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.
The report, which surveyed 66 countries, found that almost half of all people polled said that the rich often buy elections in their country.
“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,” Mr Behar said.
The surge in billionaire wealth coincides with the US Trump administration pursuing a pro-billionaire agenda. It has slashed taxes for the super-rich, undermined global efforts to tax large corporations, and reversed attempts to address monopoly power.
But Oxfam said that the research shows that rising oligarchy is undermining societies worldwide – and is not just a US phenomenon.
This comes as the number of billionaires topped 3,000 last year for the first time, while the richest, Elon Musk, became the first ever to surpass half a trillion dollars.
Nine of the top 10 social media companies are also owned by just six billionaires and eight of the top 10 AI companies are billionaire-run.
Oxfam said that the $2.5 trillion rise in billionaires’ wealth would be enough to eradicate extreme poverty 26 times over.
“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,” Mr Behar said. “Governments should be listening to the needs of the people on things like quality healthcare, action on climate change and tax fairness.”
Oxfam is calling on Governments to tax the super-rich to reduce their power, and stronger firewalls between wealth and politics, including tougher regulations against lobbying and campaign financing by the rich.