Over the past five years, global wealth concentration has intensified dramatically due to a combination of market effects and political decisions. While crises such as the pandemic and inflation have affected billions of people, the wealthiest players have seen record growth.
Here are the scientific indicators and the logic behind this transfer:
1. The extent of the transfer (totals & indicators)
Reports from organisations such as Oxfam International and the World Inequality Database document a historic leap in wealth:
Billionaire growth: In 2024 alone, the wealth of billionaires worldwide increased by £2 trillion. Since 2020, the five richest men have more than doubled their wealth, while 60% of humanity (almost 5 billion people) have become poorer.
The ‘lion's share’: The richest 1% of the world's population has secured almost two-thirds of all newly created wealth since 2020.
The wealth pyramid: Only 1.6% of adults control nearly 48% of global wealth, while the bottom half of the world's population (approximately 4 billion people) owns less than 1%.
2. Contributing factors (mechanisms of redistribution)
Redistribution is not a coincidence, but the result of specific economic processes:
Capital market boom vs. real wage loss: While inflation reduced the purchasing power of labour income, prices for stocks and real estate – assets predominantly owned by the upper classes – rose.
Crisis profits: Companies in the energy and food sectors posted record profits, leading to a transfer from private households to corporate owners.
Tax systems:
In many countries, capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than labour, which accelerates accumulation at the top. In addition, around 60% of today's billionaire wealth comes from inheritance or monopoly positions.
Conclusion: According to Oxfam, the economic ‘redistribution from the bottom to the top’ has reached a speed over the last five years that could lead to the first trillionaire in world history within a decade.
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