The World Economic Forum kicks off in the Swiss Alpine resort on the same day as the presidential inauguration of Trump, who will not be in Davos but will make an online appearance later in the week.
Global charity Oxfam said in a report that Trump’s election win and tax-cut plans are a boon to billionaires, whose combined wealth already grew by another $2 trillion last year to $15 trillion.
“Trillions are being gifted in inheritance, creating a new aristocratic oligarchy that has immense power in our politics and our economy,” Oxfam said in its traditional annual pre-Davos report on the super rich.
The organisation echoed similar language used last week by outgoing US President Joe Biden, who sounded the alarm about an extremely wealthy oligarchy that “literally threatens our entire democracy”.
Oxfam pointed out that Tesla and X owner Elon Musk helped to bankroll Trump’s campaign.
“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,” said the charity’s executive director Amitabh Behar.
“We present this report as a stark wake up-call that ordinary people the world over are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few,” Behar added.
Five trillionaires
The report, titled “Takers Not Makers”, found that 204 new billionaires emerged last year — almost four every week — to bring the total to 2,769.
Total billionaire wealth grew three times faster last year than in 2023, each billionaire seeing their fortune increase by $2 million per day on average. And, according to Oxfam, five trillionaires could emerge in a decade.
