Billionaires have more money and political power than ever, Oxfam says

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Lyndal RowlandsJanuary 19, 2026 at 07:22 AM

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Oxfam's annual report, released January 19, 2026, coinciding with the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, highlights the growing wealth and political influence of billionaires. The report indicates that billionaires' collective wealth increased by $2.5 trillion in 2025, nearly equaling the wealth of the world's poorest half. There are now over 3,000 billionaires globally, with the richest individual, Elon Musk, possessing over $500 billion. Oxfam expresses concern that the superrich are increasingly controlling media outlets, citing examples like Bezos owning The Washington Post and Musk acquiring Twitter/X, giving them disproportionate political power. The charity argues this control exacerbates inequality and undermines genuine dialogue.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

CNews 30% Los Angeles Times 40% Vincent Bollore 40% The Washington Post 50% Amazon 50% Patrick Soon-Shiong 50% X (Twitter) 60% Davos ×260% World Economic Forum 70% Jeff Bezos 70% Elon Musk ×280% Oxfam ×590%

Keywords

inequality 100% billionaires 90% political power 80% oxfam 70% wealth 70% media control 60% social media 60% davos 50% world economic forum 50% rising inequality 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Davos

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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inequality billionaires political power oxfam wealth media control social media davos world economic forum rising inequality

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