World's richest 1% gains $33 trillion since 2015 while inequality widens: Report
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The world's top 1% accumulated trillions in wealth over the past decade, while life-saving aid faces cuts, according to a Thursday Oxfam International report.
Why it matters: The amount of wealth that the rich amasses around the world could eliminate annual global poverty more than 22 times over.
- Governments are making the largest cuts to life-saving aid since the G7 was established in 1975, per Oxfam, a confederation of non-governmental organizations focused on anti-poverty measures.
- "The subordination of public goals in favor of private profit reinforces poverty and inequality, both within countries and between countries," the report said.
By the numbers: The new wealth of the top 1% surged by more than $33.9 trillion since 2015.
- From 1995 to 2023, global private wealth grew by $342 trillion — eight times more than public wealth.
- Billionaires worldwide have gained $6.5 trillion in total in the past decade, the report found.
Threat level: G7 countries alone — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. — are cutting global aid by 28% for 2026, compared to 2024.
- These countries account for about 75% of all official aid.
- These cuts could cause 2.9 million more children and adults to die by 2030 from HIV/AIDS causes alone.
The intrigue: Nine out of 10 people support paying for public services and climate action via taxes on the super-rich, according to a survey this year commissioned by Greenpeace and Oxfam.
Behind the scenes: Private creditors have harmed access to public services and exacerbated debt crises, Oxfam said.
- They grant less debt relief, which increase the discrepancy for poorer countries.
Go deeper: "Donations can't fill the gap": Nonprofits support local partners through USAID upheaval
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that cuts to global aid funding could cause 2.9 million (not 1.9 million) more deaths from HIV/AIDS by 2030.
