Oxfam research found that Australia’s 47 billionaires earn on average A$67,000 an hour, which is over 1,300 times more than the average Australian.
Their research also revealed that in 2024 billionaires rose by more than 8% or $28 billion at a rate of $3.2 million.
Globally, Oxfam found that billionaire wealth grew by $3 trillion last year, equating to roughly $8.4 billion a day, becoming the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since records began.
Many of the world’s billionaires would still retain their billionaire status if they lost 99% of their wealth, with the world’s 10 richest people growing on average by over $150 million a day. All of the top 10 richest people are also all men, with Elon Musk remaining the world’s richest man with a net worth of US$433.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Oxfam’s new inequality report Takers Not Makers is being launched today, as business elites gather in the Swiss resort town of Davos, and billionaire Donald Trump, backed by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, is inaugurated as President of the United States.
Oxfam Australia chief executive Lyn Morgain said the wealth of the 1% has reached unimaginable heights and that we will have a trillionaire sooner than expected.
“Not only has the rate of billionaire wealth accumulation accelerated — by three times in the past year alone — but so too has their power,” she said.
“The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, running the world’s largest economy.
“We present this report as a stark wake-up call that the futures of the vast majority of the global population are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few.”
The report also revealed that billionaire wealth is largely unearned, with 35% of billionaire wealth in Australia being inherited.
Morgain said it is an issue of intergenerational powers and colonial powers, as a third of Australia’s First Nations peoples are part of the 20% poorest of the population.
“Money desperately needed in Australia and abroad to tackle social issues such as access to housing and to respond to worsening humanitarian emergencies, is being siphoned off to the bank accounts of the super-rich. This is not just bad for the economy — it’s bad for humanity,” she said.
“As the Federal Election looms, it’s critical that our political leaders take bold steps to ensure the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes, so we can fund essential services like healthcare, education, and climate action — and build a fairer society for all.”
As of 2024, approximately 692 million people live under extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15 per day.
