The great power gap: Billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold office than you are, and Oxfam warns it’s ruining democracy

Trump, sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, shakes Elon Musk's hand. (Credit: ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP—Getty Images)

There’s not just a K-shaped economy of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. This K shape of diverging paths extends to politics, a new report found, and experts warn it’s threatening democracy as a result.

According to Oxfam International’s “Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power” report this week, a billionaire boom has coincided with the rise of the richest exerting political influence, with billionaires 4,000 times more likely to hold office than less wealthy people globally.