Global Billionaire Wealth Hits $18.3 Trillion Record

Global billionaire wealth reached a record 18.3 trillion dollars in 2025, surpassing previous highs as the number of billionaires topped 3,000 for the first time, according to a new report from the antipoverty organization Oxfam. Released ahead of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the findings underscore a surge in wealth concentration amid stagnant progress on reducing poverty worldwide.

The report details that billionaire fortunes grew by 16 percent last year, nearly three times the average annual rate since 2020, adding about 2.5 trillion dollars to their collective assets. This increase equates to enough resources to eliminate extreme poverty more than 25 times over, Oxfam noted, yet nearly half the world's population, or roughly 4 billion people, lives in poverty, and one in four lacks regular access to sufficient food. The 12 richest individuals now hold more wealth than the combined assets of those 4 billion people.

Driving the boom are booming valuations in artificial intelligence and technology sectors, alongside favorable economic policies. In the United States, billionaire wealth expanded at the fastest rate globally, fueled by companies...