Recent assessments warn that the global concentration of wealth keeps increasing and threatens democracy.
According to a report by Oxfam, “The world is not approaching a crucial tipping point: we are in it.” Global billionaire wealth has reached 18.3 trillion US dollars, the report says, an 81% increase in real terms since 2020. Over the past year alone, billionaire fortunes grew by 16.2%, three times faster than the average annual rate since 2020.
An expert committee mandated by the South African G20 presidency last year described inequality as an emergency. A report it presented in November 2025 states that between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1% increased their wealth 2,655 times more than the bottom 50%. The number of billionaires now exceeds 3,000 globally and they hold wealth equivalent to 14.1% of global GDP, up from 2.5% in 1990, the committee noted.
Billionaires increased their wealth by over 80% in five years
The World Inequality Report 2026, published shortly after the G20 committee report, reaches a similar conclusion about the persistence of extreme disparities. It finds that global income inequality remains at very high levels and emphasizes that these outcomes are shaped by political and institutional choices rather than economic inevitability. The report warns that such concentration risks undermining democratic accountability and social cohesion.
The G20 committee confirms that global income inequality remains extremely high, with a global income Gini coefficient of 0.61. It reports that 83% of countries, accounting for 90% of the world’s population, have high income inequality, defined as a Gini above 0.4.
Oxfam emphasized that the wealth surge at the top coincides with widespread hardship. For instance, one in four people globally faces moderate or severe food insecurity, and 2.6 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. The G20 committee report notes that food insecurity is up by 335 million people since 2019.
International Panel on Inequality recommended
All three reports link these wealth imbalances to democratic challenges. Oxfam cites research showing that more unequal countries are up to seven times more likely to experience democratic erosion. The G20 committee similarly finds that countries with high inequality are more likely to experience democratic decline. It warns that inequality erodes trust in institutions, fuels political polarization, and translates into political inequality through concentrated media ownership and campaign finance power. Oxfam argues that extreme wealth has become “a direct threat to political freedom.”
The G20 committee recommended in its report the creation of an International Panel on Inequality, modeled on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The proposed body would provide governments with independent assessments of inequality trends, policy impacts and recommendations.
Last month, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 identified inequality as one of the most interconnected global risks, linking it to social fragmentation, political instability, and weakened governance.