Oxfam Italy has recently released its new report “In the depths of inequality” [author’s translation from the original “Nel baratro della disuguaglianza”], which reflects on the increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of few and the threat this poses to democracy, in Italy and worldwide.

In 2025, billionaires around the world reached a record of $13.8 trillion in wealth, an increase of 81% with respect to 2020 in real terms, i.e., taking inflation into account. From November 2024 to November 2025, their wealth grew at a rate of 16.2%, three times higher than the average annual rate for the five-year period between 2020 and 2024. Nowadays, the richest 12 billionaires possess more wealth than the poorest half of the world population, i.e., 4 billion people¹. Only 13% of this concentrated wealth is in the hands of women; the remaining 87% is in men’s hands.

FIGURE 1

If these figures were not enough to convey the gravity of the situation, consider that 65% of the wealth that billionaires have accumulated in the last year is equal to what is needed to end extreme poverty in the world. Moreover, their accumulated wealth is 26 times the amount needed to lift anyone out of extreme poverty around the world. 

This stunning accumulation of wealth poses a clear threat to democracy: rich people are using their wealth to ensure the political power necessary to shape the rules that govern our societies and our economies to their favour, also in contrary to the basic principles of the Rule of Law, namely impartiality, legality, and equality before the law. A large cross-national statistical study on the risk factors for democratic erosion, has proved that countries with higher economic inequality are at higher risks of democratic erosions than more egalitarian countries (Rau and Stokes, 2025).² 

FIGURE 2

If policies that are supported by a huge majority of people – such as policies to combat climate change - do not gain traction in real life, it is also because the rich have strong political influence on political outcomes, either by “buying” politics (exchanging money for votes), by investing in legitimising certain elites, and/or by directly occupying political places³. The World Values Survey reports that almost half of the interviewed people share the idea that “the rich buy the elections” in their country” ⁴ . In the European Union, 14 out of the 20 organisations with the highest number of meetings with European political representatives have commercial interests⁵. Oxfam also estimates that billionaires are 4.000 more likely to hold political offices than common people⁶.

The good news is that people around the world are mobilising against this social, economic, and political trend. The Gen Z is at the forefront of recent mass mobilisations against inequalities and corruption. While governments often respond through repression or with minimal adjustments that do not change the socio-economic system, these networks remain key to defend democracy and the rule of law.

 

1. https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/resisting-rule-rich.
2. Rau, E. G. & Stokes, S. (2025). Income inequality and the erosion of democracy in the twenty-first century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(1). Available at: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39793070.
3. P. Hägel. Billionaires in World Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pagg. 117 – 145. 2021.
4. C. Haerpfer et al. World Values Survey: Round Seven – Country-Pooled Datafile Version 6.0. Madrid, Spain and Vienna, Austria. JD Systems Institute and WVSA Secretariat. 2022, disponibile al link worldvaluessurvey. org/WVSDocumentationWV7.jsp
5. Transparency International EU. MEPs and their lobby meetings, one year in: new rules, more meetings, more cause for concern? 24 maggio 2025, disponibile al link transparency.eu/new-mep-meetings/?output=pdf
6. https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/resisting-rule-rich.