Aussie Billionaire Wealth Grows $600,000 Per Day, Oxfam Finds
Synopsis
The bottom 40% of the population combined now own less wealth than the 48 billionaires according to a new report from Oxfam Australia. As the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, the charity is calling for the federal government to implement a wealth tax and remove property tax breaks like negative gearing. Oxfam says the increasing billionaires’ wealth - which surged by about $600,000 a day per person is eroding democracy and leaving millions of Australians behind in the cost-of-living crisis plaguing Australia.
Oxfam reports, Australia has renewed calls for the federal government to reform the tax system after a new report showed the wealth of Australia’s billionaire wealth spiralling at an unprecedented pace. Coinciding with the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the report exposes a growing depth between the super-wealthy and millions of ordinary Australians battling with cost-of-living pressures. The charity claims current tax laws benefit the very wealthy, making it more difficult for the government to fund critical services such as housing and childcare creating a rift between rich vs, poor.
The Widening Gap in Australian Wealth
Australia has 48 billionaires who together control more wealth than the bottom 40% of the entire population, or around 11m people. The local billionaire list has welcomed eight new names since 2020, the same year in which nearly 3.7 million Australians are living in poverty. The organization’s research has found the average Australian billionaire increased their wealth by nearly $600,000 a day over the past year in what the charity described as unsustainable and unfair rates of accumulation.
Tax System Changes Thought Process
To help rectify that, Oxfam is advocating for a 5 percent wealth tax on the wealthiest 0.5 percent of households, which it calculates would have brought in more than $17 billion in the past year alone. The organization is also advocating that the government phase out “negative gearing” and eliminate discounts for capital gains tax, which currently enable investors to pay a lower rate of tax on profits made from property or stocks than workers are required to pay on their wages. Those changes would make sure that those who did best from the economy pay their fair share back to society.
Global Trends and Political Influence
The surge in extreme wealth is not just an Australian dilemma; there are now more than 3,000 billionaires globally for the first time, with a collective worth of $27.7 trillion. Oxfam cautions that such immense wealth concentration can also result in an “erosion of democracy,” because the ultra-rich wield substantially more political power than average citizens. The report specifically highlights the fact that billionaire fortunes have surged worldwide during the beginning of Trump’s second term, thanks in large part to a deregulatory agenda and tax cuts for big multinationals.
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