World’s top-5 richest increased their wealth 114% since 2020

The world’s top-five richest people have posted a 114% surge in their collective net worths in over the last three years, Oxfam said Monday.

The wealth of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett hit a collective $869 billion at the end of November, marking a $464 billion increase since early 2020, according to Oxfam. 

The organization said its calculations factored in inflation.

Musk, Bezos, Ellison and Buffett, who all ranked highly on the Forbes 400 last year, received high scores for being self-made from the outlet. Bernard, who is French, has not received a score.

Jeff Bezos speaks during the Climate Week NYC Leaders’ Reception at PEAK at Hudson Yards on Sept. 20, 2021 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Bezos Earth Fund / Getty Images)

NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES WORLDWIDE FALLS, COLLECTIVE WEALTH DIPS

The world’s billionaires have all together added $3.3 trillion to their fortunes in three years, according to Oxfam, which suggested a trillionaire could emerge in the next 10 years “if current trends continue.”

The organization also said, citing Exerica data, it found nearly 150 of the companies with the biggest market capitalizations have together seen net profits totaling $1.8 trillion in a one-year time span ending in June of last year. They averaged profits about 52% lower than that in 2018 through 2021, according to Oxfam.

From left to right, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk. (Annegret Hilse / SVEN SIMON Reuters | Nathan Laine/Bloomberg | Photo by Britta Pedersen-Pool / Getty Images)

Meanwhile, since the COVID-19 pandemic started, some 4.8 billion people have seen their combined wealth shrink, Oxfam said.

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Bringing the number of people around the world living below a $6.85-per-day poverty line would take 229 years, according to the organization.

Oxfam published the findings in a wider “Inequality Inc” report that also urged governments to “rapidly and radically reduce the gap between the super-rich and the rest of society” through various measures.

“Every corporation has a responsibility to act but very few are,” Oxfam International interim executive director Amitabh Behar said. “Governments must step up.”

In the past, Oxfam has put out similar reports around the time of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) yearly meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Last year’s, for example, said the wealthiest 1% “grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth worth $42 trillion created since 2020.” 

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM FOR 2024 IN DAVOS KICKS OFF

The WEF said last week it anticipated the 2024 edition of its five-day annual meeting, which kicked off Monday, would draw around 1,600 business leaders and over 300 political figures, among others, to take part.