Rich get richer: Net worth of world’s billionaires jumps 16% to €16 trillion

The combined wealth of billionaires rose to a record $18.3 trillion, or €15.75 trillion, last year. That is an increase of 16 percent, according to research by Oxfam Novib in the lead-up to the World Economic Forum (WEF) starting in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday.

The over 3,000 billionaires now have twice the combined wealth of 3.6 billion people, according to the aid and human rights organization. This “extreme wealth stands in stark contrast” to global poverty, Oxfam Novib said. According to the development organization, one in four people regularly experiences hunger, and almost half the world’s population lives in poverty.

In the Netherlands, the total wealth of the richest 500 Dutch people rose to €273 billion last year, according to Oxfam Novib. They now own twice the annual healthcare budget or five times the annual education budget. The richest 500 Dutch hold 9 percent of total household wealth, while making up only 0.003 percent of the population. This means they own four times as much as the poorest 50 percent of the Netherlands, Oxfam Novib said.

In the report, Oxfam Novib warned of the “undermining influence of the super-rich” on democracy, both globally and in the Netherlands. According to the organization, the super-rich use their power to manipulate politics, the media, and the economy through media control and political donations, among other things.

According to Oxfam Novib, in the Netherlands, 11 Quote 500 members were responsible for 20 percent of all donations to political parties in the last election. 86 percent of those donations went to center- or right-wing parties.

“The influence of the super-rich is growing. They are richer than ever and are wielding their billionaire power more and more visibly and shamelessly. What used to happen behind the scenes is now happening openly. We see this with American tech billionaires surrouding president Trump and Dutch business associations that ‘give politicians a helping hand’ to get a right-wing government into power,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib Nederland.

Caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof will attend the WEF along with VVD Ministers David van Weel (Foreign Affairs) and Ruben Brekelmans (Defense). The caretaker Cabinet members will participate in “various sessions,” though the Davos summit is primarily an opportunity to speak with other leading figures from international politics and the business community.

More than 2,000 politicians, academics, and executives from businesses and civil society organizations gather annually at the WEF. This year's conference will be held from Monday, January 19th, to Friday, January 23rd.