Hundreds of millionaires and billionaires have signed an open letter demanding higher taxes on the super-rich arguing that global oligarchs have “taken over our government”, “deepened poverty” and “accelerated the breakdown of our planet.”
The statement, signed by high-profile figures including Ocar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo and musician Brian Eno, warns that the extremely wealthy are having a negative effect on the world.
It was timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Switzerland as politicians and business people gather for the conference at Davos. More than 3,000 people, including a record 60 world leaders, are gathering in the town of in the Swiss Alps this week to discuss business deals and politics.
Highlighting reports that the richest 1 per cent of people own more than 95 per cent of the rest of the world’s population combined, the letter calls on global leaders to close the widening gap.
“A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet,” it states.
The Time to Win campaign, organised by Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity and Oxfam, has a simple message for the forum; the wealthiest need to pay more.
US president Donald Trump’s attendance has been the focus of attention due to his threats to seize Danish territory Greenland, and impose tariffs on allies who don’t back him.
Trump, himself a billionaire, has assembled the wealthiest cabinet in US history in his second term. Their combined worth last year was $7.5 billion, according to Forbes.
The US president has also enjoyed support from the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who oversaw the cost-cutting DOGE department in the early days of Trump’s second term.
Without naming names, the campaign raises concerns that the undue influence of the wealthiest in society is putting the world on an “obscene trajectory”.
“Last year the rise in billionaire wealth was unprecedented,” executive director of Oxfam International, Amitabh Behar, said. “The super-rich are being given complete free rein. It is beyond comprehension that the richest 1% now own three times more than the world’s total public wealth combined.
“It’s a stark indictment that illustrates just how nonsensical the gulf now is between oligarchs and the rest of humanity. Governments must implement taxes on the super-rich now and prioritise reducing inequality. The world cannot continue on this obscene trajectory.”
Read the full statement below:
Davos Attendees—It’s Time For Us All To Win.
Fifty-five years ago, when the World Economic Forum first met, humanity stood at the dawn of remarkable progress. In the last fifty years, we have taken giant leaps in technology, medicine, communication, and global trade to create huge potential opportunities for humankind.
Today, we are more connected than ever—but at the same time, we have never been more divided. Decades of innovation have gone hand in hand with decades of inequality, environmental destruction, and wasted opportunity. The richest 1% now own more than 95% of the world’s population put together.
The gap between the super rich and everyone else grows larger every day, stretching across neighbourhoods, nations, and, perhaps most of all, generations. A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet. What we treasure, rich and poor alike, is being eaten away by those intent on growing the gulf between their vast power and everyone else.
We all know this. When even millionaires, like us, recognise that extreme wealth has cost everyone else everything else, there can be no doubt that society is dangerously teetering off the edge of a precipice.
We are worn out watching this happen. We want our democracies back. We want our communities back. We want our future back.
In 2026, we must do more than hope for a future we want. We must win it.
You already have a simple and effective solution, supported by millionaires and the public alike. Stop squandering the time we have—tax the super rich.
As millionaires who stand shoulder to shoulder with all people, we demand it. And as our elected representatives—whether it’s those of you at Davos, local councillors, city mayors, or regional leaders—it’s your duty to deliver it. So tax us. Tax the super rich.
We can win back power from those who capture it; win back our democracies from those who abuse them; reclaim health, education, and safe homes from those who have bottomed out our infrastructure and public services. We can win back our shared wealth.
Extreme wealth has led to extreme control for those who gamble with our safe future for their obscene gains. Now is the time to end that control and win back our future.
Millionaires like us refuse to be silent. It is time to be counted. Tax us and make sure the next fifty years meet the promise of progress for everyone.
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