The world's billionaires keep getting richer, but what does this mean for democracy? | DW News

Billionaires are richer than ever. Their combined wealth has exploded from less than one trillion dollars in 2000 to more than 20 trillion dollars today. But alongside that rise in wealth comes a growing debate over power, influence and democracy.

DW reporter Tomi Oladipo speaks with economist Professor Paul Segal, who argues that today's ultra-wealthy have access to technologies, media platforms and political networks that give them unprecedented influence over society. He says growing inequality is reshaping economies and raising questions about who really benefits from economic growth.

We also meet German entrepreneur Sebastian Klein, who gave away 90 percent of his personal fortune after concluding that extreme wealth concentration threatens democracy. As billionaire fortunes continue to grow and calls for higher wealth taxes gain momentum, the discussion explores whether extreme wealth and democratic equality can coexist, and what governments can do to address a widening gap between the richest citizens and everyone else.

Chapters:
00:00 Billionaires are buying influence
00:38 Overview of the world’s richest 10%
01:22 Tools ultrawealthy use to gain control
02:09 Start-up iconoclast who gave away his riches
03:47 How ultrawealthy steers governments to their benefit
04:47 Billionaires funding politicians they believe in
05:28 Rich own means of communication
06:36 Inequality on overdrive since 1980s
07:10 Tax-the-rich movements rise worldwide
08:31 Will billionaires move to avoid wealth taxes?
09:41 What could still fuel entrepreneurship
10:13 Call for by wealthy themselves to pay more tax
10:53 Conclusion

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