As the world marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, it confronts an uncomfortable paradox that defines our era: humanity has never been wealthier, yet millions remain trapped in poverty.
Consider the contrast. In 2021, cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun paid US$28 million for an 11-minute suborbital flight aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket. That amount could provide clean water for over 800,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa for a year, if the Water Project’s US$34 per person cost estimate is applied.
While one man floated weightless above Earth, more than 700 million people back on the ground lived in extreme poverty.
This is not merely a tale of excess versus need. It is the story of a world where record wealth creation coexists with deepening poverty and inequality.
The great wealth divide
Global wealth soared to US$512 trillion in 2024, according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Global Wealth Report 2025. At the same time, the number of dollar millionaires rose by 1.2%, or 684,000 people, while the world added 204 new billionaires. The richest 1% now control nearly 45% of global wealth.
Meanwhile, poverty reduction has stalled. The World Bank’s 2024 report found that 700 million people still live on less than US$2.15 a day, and nearly 3.5 billion survive on under US$6.85 a day.
See also: 10 causes of global poverty
A key driver of this imbalance lies in how wealth is created, preserved, and transferred. Oxfam’s Takers Not Makers report found that 60% of billionaire wealth stems from inheritance, monopolies, or political connections rather than productivity or innovation.
Tax systems further shield elite fortunes. In the U.S., high exemption thresholds, family trusts, and estate loopholes allow billions to pass largely untaxed across generations. The outcome: wealth compounds across generations, and so does poverty.
When wealth becomes a curse
Nowhere is this paradox more visible than in resource-rich Africa. The continent holds roughly 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, yet in 2024, an estimated 429 million Africans – nearly a third of the population – lived in extreme poverty. Twenty-six of the world’s poorest nations are here.
British economist Richard Auty coined the term “resource curse” in 1993 to explain why resource-rich countries often fail to develop. “Natural assets can distort economies to such a degree that their benefit becomes a curse,” he warned, noting that easy resource revenues encourage short-termism, elite capture, and weak governance.
The curse takes many forms. In some nations, oil or mineral booms inflate local currencies, a phenomenon known as Dutch Disease, weakening manufacturing and agriculture, Auty explains. In others, political elites capture resource rents, entrenching corruption and patronage.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a stark example. Despite an estimated US$24 trillion in untapped mineral wealth, more than 60% of its citizens live in extreme poverty. Opaque contracts, illegal mining, and conflict ensure that revenue flows upward while communities face environmental degradation and exploitative labor.
The working poor in the world’s richest nations
Poverty is no longer confined to developing countries. In high-income nations, the cost-of-living crisis has pushed millions into precarity, proving that a job no longer guarantees basic security.
Ellen Tara James-Penny, a California university lecturer with two degrees, taught four classes at San José State University but lived in her car because her salary could not cover rent.
Her experience mirrors broader structural pressures. As Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond explains, the poor face unequal housing, labor, and financial markets that “drive down wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit”.
See also: Homelessness statistics in the world: causes and facts
In the U.S., 771,000 people were homeless in 2024, and nearly half of them were employed, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Europe faces similar struggles. Ninety-three million people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024, Eurostat reports. Among those employed, 11% were at risk of poverty despite full-time work. The cost of essentials rose four times faster than wages in 2022. Meanwhile, low-paid workers spend a third of their income on rent, leaving them with little to spare for food, healthcare, or savings.
The human toll is stark. Nearly 23.7 million employed Europeans were unable to heat their homes in the 2023 winter, even as top CEOs earned about 110 times more than the average worker.
The architecture of inequality
Four powerful forces sustain today’s widening gap between the rich and everyone else:
1️⃣ Wealth Concentration
When the return on capital outpaces economic growth, wealth accumulates faster for those who already own assets, French economist Thomas Piketty said. Nearly two-thirds of billionaire wealth stems from inheritance, monopolies, or cronyism, Oxfam noted. Meanwhile, the poorest half of humanity owns less than 1% of global wealth.
2️⃣ Debt and fiscal pressure
Developing countries spent a record US$921 billion on debt servicing in 2024, a 10% rise from 2023, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reports. Sixty-one nations spend more than 10% of revenues on interest payments, often at the expense of public services.
3️⃣ The climate-poverty trap
Climate change acts as a poverty multiplier. Countries least responsible for emissions face the harshest climate impacts while juggling rising debt. The World Bank estimates climate change could push 132 million more people into extreme poverty by 2030.
4️⃣ The digital divide
Economic development increasingly hinges on digital access. Those without internet access or digital skills are locked out of jobs and education. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 36% of people have internet access compared to 89% in Europe, deepening inequality in income and opportunity.
A different future is possible
The persistence of poverty amid plenty is not inevitable; it is the result of political and economic design. But alternatives exist.
In Kenya, a long-term Universal Basic Income pilot by GiveDirectly has shown remarkable results: recipients of unconditional cash transfers reported higher food security, better health, and small business activity. Similar pilots in Spain and Finland improved well-being and reduced stress without discouraging work.
Debt relief also offers hope. The Jubilee 2000 campaign erased over $100 billion in debt for 35 countries. A renewed push, linking relief to climate action through debt-for-climate swaps, could unlock fiscal space for green development.
Momentum for fairer taxation is growing, from a global minimum corporate tax to calls for wealth taxes. These measures reflect a growing realization that unregulated capitalism alone cannot deliver shared prosperity.
