A recent Oxfam report estimates that up to five individuals could obtain trillionaire status within the next ten years.
The extreme concentration of wealth is expected to increase over the next decade, further enhancing the fortunes of the current ultra-rich.
2024 was a good year for the super-rich, with most of them experiencing an increase in their fortunes. Initial forecasts suggested that, within the next decade, one of these billionaires would achieve a net worth exceeding $1 trillion.
However, a recent Oxfam report presented at Davos 2025 points to a different future. Due to the extreme level of wealth accumulation, the study indicates that up to five billionaires could exceed the trillion-dollar mark within the next 10 years.
Fortunes are on the rise. According to Oxfam, previous predictions that one individual could amass a fortune exceeding $1 trillion have become outdated due to the rapid growth observed among wealthy individuals in 2024.
Oxfam notes that, during the 2024 financial year, the wealth of the super-rich increased at three times the rate compared to 2023. The organization reports, “In 2024, the number of billionaires rose to 2,769, up from 2,565 in 2023. Their combined wealth surged from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months. This is the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since records began.”
The year of AI and the space race. The rapid growth of immense fortunes is primarily driven by two key factors: the surge in AI development and the emergence of private space ventures. Notable figures in the AI sector, such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have seen their wealth increase dramatically.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos have become prominent figures in space exploration. Both billionaires have positioned their aerospace companies among the most highly valued, benefitting from contracts with NASA that provide substantial financial support. Interestingly, Musk and Bezos are “playing both sides,” given that their companies are also leaders in AI development.
Trump’s reelection. Oxfam also highlights that “the ever-growing concentration of wealth is enabled by a monopolistic concentration of power, with billionaires increasingly exerting influence over industries and public opinion.”
President Donald Trump’s reelection, coupled with the unity of major tech companies in support of his presidency, has contributed to forecasts predicting that up to five billionaires may surpass the trillion-dollar mark within the next decade. Trump’s early executive orders have indicated a tendency to prioritize the interests of these companies globally, enhancing the fortunes of their founders and CEOs as a result.
Musk was always going to be a candidate. With a fortune of $432.6 billion, Musk is currently the richest person in the world, according to Forbes. As such, he’s consistently been considered a potential candidate to become one of the first trillionaires in history.
At the end of 2024, Musk achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing the $400 billion mark, effectively nearly doubling his fortune in just two months.
Moreover, the expected growth of the fortunes of other billionaires, such as Zuckerberg, Bezos, Ellison, and Huang, could occur in a deregulated environment where large corporations face fewer legal restrictions on expansion.
Image | Anthony Quintano | Thomas Hawk | National Museum of American History
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