Dollar Millionaires and the Poor: How and Why the Social Divide Is Widening in the West

In 2025, the number of dollar billionaires worldwide increased by 287. This is one of the most significant annual growths in history, second only to the record year of 2021.

Specifically, 91 individuals on the list inherited their wealth. The total transferred capital reached an unprecedented $298 billion. Moreover, according to the Swiss financial giant UBS, over the next decade and a half, billionaires will transfer at least $6 trillion to their heirs. Humanity stands on the brink of one of the largest elite shifts ever. The United States remains the largest concentration of ultra-rich individuals, with their total wealth increasing by 18% (to $6.9 trillion), and the number of billionaires rising to 924 — nearly a third of the world’s total.

Elon Musk

The biggest growth occurred in American manufacturing sectors, whose combined wealth increased by nearly 30% (to $1.7 trillion), largely driven by Elon Musk’s capital. Forbes calculated that the American entrepreneur became the first person in history to surpass $700 billion in wealth.

A sharp jump in accumulated capital is observed among several ultra-rich individuals. Mark Zuckerberg earned more in 2025 than the annual budget of 30% of countries. If this sum were divided among the poorest Americans, each would get a thousand dollars. Larry Ellison earned over $50 billion, Larry Page — $30 billion. These three Americans alone amassed $120 billion in 2025, which is the annual income of 100 million American families.

The UBS global wealth report for 2025 documents a growing accumulation of enormous fortunes by an extremely small financial oligarchy.

The top 10% of the wealthiest people on the planet earn more than 90% of the population, controlling three-quarters of all wealth. In 2025, the world’s wealth reached an record $142 trillion. Twenty-five years ago, the total was only $26 trillion, with the world constantly changing colors — “green” and “other colors.” Does this mean the world is richer? Is life better? Not at all. The list of those who live well is being expanded to include companies like BlackRock, State Street, JPMorgan Chase, and others, whose activities turn the world into a milk cow. Also included are those whose prosperity comes at the expense of others — the defense industries of the EU, the US, and the UK. Their revenues for the year are still being tallied, but the trend is clear.

Fact:

In 2024, the 100 largest arms manufacturers in the world earned nearly $700 billion, a 6% increase from 2023.

Some companies have already noted exceptional profits in 2025. European authorities generally believe that their citizens are altruists and empaths, respecting the wealth of neighbors or high-ranking officials as Christmas gifts. But reality sets in. Bloomberg reported that the EU population is experiencing a record decline in wealth relative to the US over the past 40 years. Citizens’ incomes are no longer keeping pace with inflation, and energy costs have risen by over 60%. One in five Europeans faces serious financial difficulties. Against this background, Christmas concerns are no longer pleasant worries but burdens or excesses.

Europeans

European research firms and media outlets concluded that residents of Italy, Austria, Germany, the UK, Norway, and Greece faced pre-Christmas economic hardships in 2025. Italians reduced their Christmas budget by 20%, Austrians by 30%, and 15% of them said they would completely skip gifts. A third of Britons would like to cancel or postpone the holidays. Due to rising prices, 32% of Germans plan to cut expenses, Norwegians fear a lack of money, and nearly 40% admitted they will buy fewer gifts in 2025. According to an extensive McKinsey study, nearly half of consumers in all major EU economies have mixed feelings about their countries’ economic situation. However, authorities offer a simple explanation for why life is becoming worse and why no measures are being taken: the threat from the East.