In 2024, wealth concentration reaches an all-time high. according to Forbes list of billionairesNot only are there more billionaires than ever before—2,781—but those billionaires are also wealthier than ever, with a net worth of $14.2 trillion. This is a trend that is set to continue. A recent reports Financial data company Ultrata estimates that the approximately 1.2 million individuals worth more than $5 million will amass a collective wealth of nearly $31 trillion over the next decade.
There is growing discontent and concern over the consequences of excessive wealth in our society. For example, Senator Bernie Sanders stated that “The obscene levels of income and wealth inequality in America are a deeply moral issue.“One in Joint op-ed for CNN In 2023, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Disney's heiress Abigail Disney wrote that “extreme wealth inequality threatens our economy and democracy.” In 2024, when Tesla's board voted on a $56 billion pay package for Elon Musk, some major shareholders voted against it, declaring that such a compensation level was “absurd” and “ridiculous,
In 2025, the fight against growing wealth inequality will be at the top of the political agenda. In July 2024, the G20—the world's 20 largest economies—agreed to work on a new global proposal for Brazil.billionaire tax“This would impose a 2 percent tax on wealth above $1 billion. This would raise an estimated $250 billion per year. However this specific proposal was not supported by the G20 countries in the Rio Declaration Agreed That the very rich should be taxed more.
Progressive politicians won't be the only ones trying to solve this problem. In 2025, millionaires themselves will increasingly mobilize and put pressure on political leaders. one such movement is patriot millionaireA non-partisan group of multi-millionaires who are already publicly campaigning and privately lobbying the U.S. Congress to protect a guaranteed living wage for all, a fair tax system, and equal representation . ,Millionaires and big corporations – those who have profited the most from our nation's wealth – should pay a larger percentage of the tab to run the country“Their price statement reads. Members include Abigail Disney, former BlackRock executive Morris Pearl, legal scholar Lawrence Lessig, screenwriter Norman Lear, and investor Lawrence Benenson.
another example is taxmenowA lobby group founded in 2021 by young multi-millionaires in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that also advocates higher wealth taxation. Its most famous member is 32-year-old Marlene Engelhorn, a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of German pharma giant BASF. She recently established a council made up of 50 randomly selected Austrian citizens to decide what should happen to her €25 million inheritance. “I have inherited wealth and hence power without doing anything for it,” he said in a statement. “If the politicians don't do their job and redistribute, I'll have to redistribute my wealth myself.”
Earlier this year, Patriotic Millionaires, TaxMeNow, Oxfam and another activist group called for millionaire for humanity Formed a coalition called Proud to Pay More, and addressed a letter From global leaders during the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in Davos. Signed by hundreds of high net worth individuals – including heiress Valerie Rockefeller, actor Simon Pegg and filmmaker Richard Curtis – the letter said: “We all know that ‘trickle down economics’ has not translated into reality. Instead it has left us with stagnant wages, crumbling infrastructure, and destabilized institutions of democracy. “We ask you to take this necessary and inevitable step forward before it is too late. Make people proud. Tax excessive wealth.” In 2025, thanks to a rising movement of activist millionaires, these calls will become even louder.