Surging billionaire wealth a political threat, Oxfam warns as Davos opens

France24 ^ | January 18, 2026

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – The collective wealth of the planet's billionaires soared to a record level in 2025, charity Oxfam reported Monday, warning of "highly dangerous" political consequences as the global elite gathers for the World Economic Forum.

US President Donald Trump's policies in particular spurred the fortunes of the ultra-rich, which jumped 16.2 percent in the first year of his second term to $18.3 trillion, the NGO said in a report released each year ahead of the Davos forum.

"Actions of the Trump presidency including the championing of deregulation and undermining agreements to increase corporate taxation have benefited the richest around the world," Oxfam said.

Trump will arrive with one of the biggest US delegations ever for the Davos conference, where he is expected to dominate an agenda officially billed as "A Spirit of Dialogue".

Trump's participation galvanised around 300 protesters who arrived in Davos on Sunday, many wearing masks of Musk or US Vice President JD Vance and holding fistfuls of euros.

Nathalie Ruoss of the Swiss Young Socialists told AFP the most powerful people in the world make decisions at Davos that impact everyone.

"And they do it with no democratic legitimacy," she said, calling it "unacceptable" that the WEF welcomed "fascists like Donald Trump".

For Oxfam, Washington's decision to exempt US multinationals from an internationally agreed minimum tax rate of 15 percent was a stark example of ignoring growing inequality.

---

TOPICS: Business/Economy; European Union; Foreign Affairs; France; Germany; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War
KEYWORDS: 666; davis; eussr; fourthreich; globalism; thebeast

[Nervous Tick]

>> US President Donald Trump’s policies in particular spurred the fortunes of the ultra-rich

😂🤣😂

Is there ANY dastardly evil whatsoever that President Trump cannot singlehandedly unleash upon the whole wide world??!?

These people are mass psychotic.

[wjcsux]

The WEF wants to destroy the economies of the rest of the world while enriching themselves.

[Rlsau1]

It would probably be a blessing to the world if a meteor were to strike Davos when the WEF is meeting.

[DoodleBob]

Actions of the Trump presidency including the championing of deregulation and undermining agreements to increase corporate taxation

[A_Former_Democrat]

Trump’s fault again.

[No name given]

And they welcomed the Nazi collaborator George Soros!

[lightman]

Oxfam is a communist front.

[SaveFerris]

(Surging billionaire wealth a political threat, Oxfam warns as Davos opens)

Nothing to worry about o world 🌏🌎🌍

The Godless Reprobate World Economic Forum has Larry Fink of Blackrock - which controls $10.5 TRILLION DOLLARS in funds and forces companies to push Homosexual Agendas upon the public

WHAT could possibly go wrong? 🤯😰😲😯🤔🤔🤔

[JimRed]

A bunch of them have already decided that most of the rest of us need to be killed off. They have the bucks to get it done, too.

[wjcsux]

“ And they welcomed the Nazi collaborator George Soros!”

The WEF is the current home for the Nazi party.

[GOPJ]

The WEF wants to destroy the economies of the rest of the world while enriching themselves.

The only billionaires these lowlifes worry about are conservative billionaires. They worry about Elon Musk... eff 'em.

[ZOOKER]

For Oxfam, Washington's decision to exempt US multinationals from an internationally agreed minimum tax rate of 15 percent was a stark example of ignoring growing inequality.

Just a dumb question, but what nations "internationally agreed" to tax multinational corporations?

Okay, one more dumb question: when these multinationals get taxed, who gets the money?

[No name given]

That’s correct.

[SmokingJoe]

“For Oxfam, Washington's decision to exempt US multinationals from an internationally agreed minimum tax rate of 15 percent was a stark example of ignoring growing inequality.”

Tax rates in America are set by congress, not by some meeting of oligarchs.
Oxfam is one of the biggest grifters on the planet who have been feeding off US/other tax payers for decades.
These international “clarity” organizations usually set up shop in America so they can get access to billions of dollars of US tax payer dollars for as long as they can with no accountability.
That needs to stop.

[Fuzz]

Yes!

We only accept what our own billionaire class demands of us!

Screw these foreign billionaires.

[Nervous Tick]

>> Oxfam is one of the biggest grifters on the planet who have been feeding off US/other tax payers for decades.

Oh, yeah. They are one of the granddaddies of the NGO mechanism of governance grift.

[metmom]

The irony is obviously completely lost on them.

The world’s richest complaining about wealth.

I guess they’re jealous because it’s cutting into THEIRS and their influence and they don’t have the free hand to run things like they used to.

[econjack]

Stupid arguments. Bezos has been a millionaire for over a decade. Back then, he could have taken his millions, bought a yacht, and sailed around the world eating bon-bons...but he didn’t. Instead, he plowed the money from Amazon back into the business to the point where 250,000+ souls get their food, clothing, and shelter from his efforts. The same is true for Musk, Gates, and the other billionaires. Having wealth is not a bad thing because literally millions of peoples’ livelihoods were forged from the efforts of these people. Instead of denigrating them, we should be thanking them.

BTW, I’m not one of them. I’m a retired econ prof.

[Secret Agent Man]

...only if they are not liberal...