The world's richest people got richer in 2025. The bank UBS said the 500 richest people on Earth made an extra $2.2 trillion last year. Their collective net worth rose to $11.9 trillion. Bloomberg reported that the eight billionaires who topped the rich list accounted for a quarter of the gains in earnings. The Guardian newspaper said the gains were "bolstered" by Donald Trump's 2024 election victory, "and booming markets in cryptocurrencies".

Many organizations were alarmed at so much wealth being in so few hands. The charity Oxfam said: "Inequality is a deliberate policy choice. Despite record wealth at the top, public wealth is...declining....Inequality rips away life opportunities and rights from the majority of citizens." A climate scientist warned that "if the economic system that is tearing our planet...and its people apart isn't brought to its knees, then humanity will be".