In his farewell speech, President Biden warned about the formation of an oligarchy in the United States, made up of ultra-wealthy individuals, describing it as a threat to democracy, fundamental rights, and individual freedoms. However, this oligarchy did not emerge solely under the Trump administration—it has been consolidating over the years of American unipolar dominance, from 1991 to today, with a significant acceleration over the past decade. The flip side of this trend—the increase in inequality—is not just a Western phenomenon; it has also impacted other global economies, including China.

According to the Oxfam 2025 report, between November 2023 and November 2024, the total wealth of the billionaires listed in Forbes increased by a staggering $2 trillion in real terms, with the number of billionaires rising by 204, adding nearly four new billionaires per week. On average, billionaires saw their fortunes grow by $2 million per day, while the ten richest billionaires experienced a daily increase of about $100 million.

Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest person, saw his wealth grow by 31% in a single year, reaching over $330 billion by November 2024. Mark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of $198.7 billion (placing him fourth on the global billionaire rankings), recorded the highest percentage increase among the top ten billionaires, with a staggering 69% annual growth. Among the world’s ten richest individuals, seven are American, one is French, and two are Indian.

In China, however, the number of billionaires has declined, dropping to 814 in 2024 from 1,130 in 2022, while in the United States, the number has surged from 716 in 2022 to 800 in 2024. The role of the super-rich in Chinese politics appears significantly different from that in the U.S.: despite a dynamic market economy, political authority in China maintains clear dominance over capital, distinguishing itself from the American model, where elite economic interests largely shape the political landscape.

The Transformation of Liberal Democracies into Oligarchies

For four decades, the dominance of an economic system built on unlimited wealth accumulation, favorable tax policies, and the destruction of organized labor has fueled the transformation of liberal democracies into oligarchies. This concentration of wealth and power has created a system in which politics—intended to represent the majority—has become increasingly controlled by the interests of multimillionaires.

Voting rights remain technically intact, but with declining voter participation, increasing media control, and the skyrocketing cost of political campaigns, access to power is increasingly limited to the super-rich. A striking example is the 2024 U.S. elections, which exceeded $15 billion in campaign spending—a staggering amount that underscores the growing financial barrier to political influence.

Inequality at Extreme Levels

Today’s level of wealth inequality is so extreme that, according to estimates, even saving $1,000 per day since the first evidence of Homo sapiens (315,000 years ago) would still be insufficient to reach the net worth of one of the world’s ten richest billionaires.

This injustice is further underscored by the fact that over a third (36%) of billionaire wealth is inherited, revealing that the accumulation of vast fortunes is often not the result of merit or innovation, but rather privilege and passive wealth accumulation.

Addressing inequality should be a political priority. Reintroducing progressive taxation—similar to levels seen in the 1970s before “the rich won the class war,” as Warren Buffett famously said—could help rebuild a system that restores social mobility and the foundations of a truly democratic and participatory society.