At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians' surrender to the super-rich | George Monbiot

"It is the major cause of Donald Trump, of Nigel Farage, of the shocking weakness of their opponents, of the polarisation tearing societies apart, of the devastation of the living world. It is simply stated: the extreme wealth of a small number of people. It can also be quantified. The World Inequality Report (WIR) 2026 shows that about 56,000 people 0.001% of the global population corral three times more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. They afflict almost every country."

"In 2024, Oxfam's figures show, the wealth of the world's 2,769 billionaires grew by $2tn, or $2,000bn. The total global spending on international aid last year was projected to be, at most, $186bn, less than a tenth of the increment in their wealth. Governments tell us they can't afford more. In the UK, billionaires, on average, have become more than 1,000% richer since 1990. Most of their wealth derives from property, inheritance and finance. They have become so rich, in other words, at our expense."

"Trump is not seizing Venezuela's oil wealth for the sake of the US poor. He couldn't give a damn about them, as his big, beautiful bill robbing the poor to give to the rich revealed. He covets Greenland on behalf of the same elite interests, of which he is the avatar. When the world's richest man, Elon Musk, helped destroy the lives of the world's poorest by tearing down USAID, he did so on behalf of his class."

The extreme wealth concentrated in a tiny global elite fuels political populism, weak opposition, societal polarisation, and environmental destruction. About 56,000 people (0.001% of the global population) hold three times the wealth of the poorest half of humanity; in the UK fifty families own more than half the population combined. Billionaire wealth rose by roughly $2tn in 2024 while global international aid was around $186bn. UK billionaires became over 1,000% richer since 1990. Most billionaire wealth stems from property, inheritance, and finance. The richest 1% account for 41% of private-capital greenhouse emissions, nearly double the bottom 90%.

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