Austrian-German Marlene Engelhorn (L) who give away the bulk of her multi-million euro inheritan to 77 organisations that seek to improve environmental protection, education, integration, health and social issues poses with British millionaire Phil White holding a placard which reads: “Tax the rich” during a demonstration against the World Economic Forum (WEF) ahead of the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Davos, Switzerland — A leading NGO warned Monday of an emerging “aristocratic oligarchy” with massive political clout and primed to profit from Donald Trump’s presidency, as global elites descend on Davos for their annual confab.
The World Economic Forum kicks off in the Swiss Alpine resort on the same day as the presidential inauguration of Trump, who will not be in Davos but will make an online appearance later in the week.
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FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Megawide building new infra pipeline BUSINESS Finland seeks to entice more skilled Filipino workers BUSINESS Recto: Gov’t might have missed 2024 growth targetGlobal charity Oxfam said in a report that Trump’s election win and tax-cut plans are a boon to billionaires, whose combined wealth already grew by another $2 trillion last year to $15 trillion.
“Trillions are being gifted in inheritance, creating a new aristocratic oligarchy that has immense power in our politics and our economy,” Oxfam said in its traditional annual pre-Davos report on the super rich.
Article continues after this advertisementThe organization echoed similar language used last week by outgoing US President Joe Biden, who sounded the alarm about an extremely wealthy oligarchy that “literally threatens our entire democracy”.
Article continues after this advertisementOxfam pointed out that Tesla and X owner Elon Musk helped to bankroll Trump’s campaign.
Article continues after this advertisement“The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, running the world’s largest economy,” said the charity’s executive director Amitabh Behar.
“We present this report as a stark wake up-call that ordinary people the world over are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few,” Behar added.
Article continues after this advertisement Five trillionairesThe report, titled “Takers Not Makers”, found that 204 new billionaires emerged last year — almost four every week — to bring the total to 2,769.
Total billionaire wealth grew three times faster last year than in 2023, each billionaire seeing their fortune increase by $2 million per day on average. And, according to Oxfam, five trillionaires could emerge in a decade.
Trump’s election “gave a huge further boost to billionaire fortunes, while his policies are set to fan the flames of inequality further”, Oxfam said.
In the United States “we are in a situation where you can buy a country, with the risk of weakening democracy”, said the head of Oxfam France, Cecile Duflot.
Philippine trade undersecretary Allan Gepty, who is leading the negotiations happening in Dubai for the southeast Asian country, said they will hold talks until Wednesday to complete the remaining work for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Another record session Friday on Wall Street crowned a sixth weekly gain in a row, but failed to carry over into Monday and inspire a similar rally elsewhere.
The world’s three richest men will be at his inauguration: Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Meta empire owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The tech trio is not expected in Davos, however.
Demonstrators arrive for a protest ahead of the World Economy Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
‘Tax the rich’Some 3,000 participants are expected at the Swiss ski village for the forum ending Friday — including 60 heads of state or government and more than 900 CEOs — for days of schmoozing and behind-the-scenes dealmaking.
A few hundred protesters blocked an access road to Davos on Sunday, holding banners reading “tax the rich” and “burn the system”, and causing a traffic jam until police dispersed them.
“The WEF symbolizes how much power wealthy people like me hold,” said Austrian-German heiress Marlene Engelhorn, who gave away the bulk of her multi-million-euro inheritance to dozens of organizations working on social issues.
“Because just because we are born millionaires, or because we got lucky once — and call that self-made — we now get to influence politicians worldwide with our political preferences,” she told AFP.
While Trump will not be in Davos in person, his presidency will dominate discussions. His plans to impose trade tariffs, loosen regulations, extend tax breaks and curb immigration will have far-reaching effects on the global economy.
He has named hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as his Treasury secretary, while billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick will head the Commerce Department.
Rising inequalities have fuelled debates about imposing a global tax on the super-rich.
“I don’t want to live in a country with a few rich people and lots of poor people,” said Morris Pearl, a former managing director at investment giant BlackRock. He is now a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group that backs raising taxes on the rich.
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“I’m afraid that we’re going to have civil unrest if we don’t change thingssugarplay,” Pearl told AFP.
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