Oxfam Reveals Trillions in Untaxed Wealth Widening Global Inequality

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:31:00 +0200

A decade after the Panama Papers exposed the vast scale of financial secrecy among the world’s elite, Oxfam’s latest analysis reveals that offshore wealth remains alarmingly high. According to the organization, the richest 0.1 percent hold more than $3.5 trillion in hidden, untaxed funds—surpassing the combined wealth of over 4 billion of the world’s poorest people. Of that amount, the top 0.01 percent alone control approximately $1.77 trillion. This concentration of untaxed wealth exacerbates global inequality, depriving nations of funds needed for essential public services such as education, healthcare, and social protection. The report warns that the system is not malfunctioning but working as designed—favoring the ultra-rich while underfunding the needs of ordinary citizens. Although measures such as the Automatic Exchange of Information, launched in 2016–2017, have slightly reduced offshore secrecy, progress is uneven. Many developing nations remain excluded from these reforms, le