World's 500 Richest Add Record $2.2T in 2025

Is this an ominous sign of a rising oligarchy or an indicator of booming global markets?

Published 6 hours ago

World's 500 Richest Add Record $2.2T in 2025

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Above: Elon Musk and Jensen Huang at a U.S.-Saudi investment event in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2025. Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Spin

Left narrative

Billionaires adding $2.2 trillion in a single year isn't innovation; it's obscene extraction. While billions live in poverty, a tiny elite hoards wealth, buys politics and flips parties to protect profits. The myth of "good billionaires" collapses when money rules every system. This is a global oligarchy, not democracy or equality, and real regulation must curb extreme wealth and put ordinary people first everywhere, before it's too late.

The New York Times DAWN

Right narrative

Rising billionaire wealth reflects a booming market, not a rigged one. In a year when the NASDAQ rose nearly 30%, founders and major shareholders naturally saw big paper gains. Their wealth grew because companies succeeded, stocks surged and investors of all sizes benefited. Condemning this as a moral failure ignores how growth, innovation and shared market access actually create prosperity.

National Review The Wall Street Journal

Cynical narrative

The rise of billionaire power isn't a left-right issue but a shared democratic challenge. Real change means people across ideologies confronting a system that rewards power over participation and creating rules that put society first, together.

Jacobin Unz