Oxfam report reveals massive wealth gap as poorest countries face debt crisis

A staggering new report from Oxfam reveals that the richest 1% of people worldwide have collectively increased their wealth by an eye-watering $33.9 trillion in real terms since 2015.

This data, released just ahead of the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, highlights a growing chasm between extreme wealth and global poverty.

This “astronomical growth in private wealth” stands in stark contrast to a looming humanitarian crisis, as aid from G7 countries is set to drop sharply by 28% in 2026 compared to 2024, marking the steepest cut in aid since 1960.

The report also shines a spotlight on the fortunes of just 3,000 billionaires, whose wealth has surged by $6.5 trillion since 2015 alone. Their combined assets now represent 14.6% of the entire global economy. Meanwhile, private capital worldwide has ballooned to $342 trillion between 1995 and 2023 — a figure eight times larger than public assets, which stand at $44 trillion.

Yet, amid this concentration of wealth, 60% of the world’s poorest countries teeter on the brink of debt crises. These nations are spending more on servicing their debts than on essential services like healthcare and education. Private creditors, who hold over half the debt of low-income countries, are making matters worse by refusing to restructure debts and imposing harsh repayment terms.

Oxfam’s analysis also reveals a striking comparison: the $33.9 trillion increase in wealth of the richest 1% since 2015 could cover the annual cost of ending poverty in 2024 — defined for the 3.7 billion people living on less than $8.30 a day — more than 22 times over. In other words, the fortunes amassed by the ultra-rich in recent years could eradicate extreme poverty worldwide for more than two decades.

This is only indicative, as the cost of ending poverty would likely fall over the next 22 years anyway, as the numbers living in poverty reduce, and the value of the wealth would increase as it would not be spent all at once.

But nevertheless, this comparison indicates the extent to which more wealth, which is being greatly concentrated in the hands of a few, could be directed to ending poverty instead of further inflating the fortunes of the richest.

By Tamilla Hasanova