From Private Profit to Public Power” : OXFAM

Report shared by John Gilmartin

Click here for the Report 

Summary

This Oxfam brief sharply critiques the current model of development finance, which prioritizes private investment over public solutions.

It argues that while global private wealth has soared—especially among billionaires—funding for public goods, social protection, and development remains grossly inadequate. The report points to rising inequality, shrinking aid, and unsustainable debt burdens, especially in the Global South, as symptoms of a broken system that favors profit over people. Oxfam calls for a dramatic shift: taxing extreme wealth, ending reliance on private creditors, and restoring public sector leadership in development.

Key Findings

*Massive global inequality persist: Since 1995, private wealth has ballooned by ~$342 trillion—eight times the growth in public wealth—while SDG progress stagnates 

*Wealth acceleration of the ultra-rich: Billionaires (approx. 3,000 individuals) amassed ~$6.5 trillion since 2015—exceeding the ~$4 trillion needed annually to achieve the SDGs

*Cuts to official aid: G7 nations plan a 28% reduction in foreign aid by 2026 compared to 2024—sending official development assistance to its lowest levels since 1960

* Debt crisis hitting stride: Today, roughly 60% of low-income countries face or risk debt distress; debt levels in middle-income countries are at a 30-year high.

* Private creditors' outsized role: Non-state lenders now hold more public debt than bilateral donors—exacerbating vulnerabilities.

Quotes
“The richest 1 percent have gained at least $33.9 trillion in wealth in real terms, enough to end annual poverty 22 times over.”
“Billionaires—roughly 3,000 people—have gained $6.5 trillion in real terms, more than the $4 trillion estimated annual cost of achieving the SDGs.”
“G7 countries … are cutting aid by 28 percent for 2026 compared to 2024.”
“Private creditors, who now outpace bilateral donors by five times … account for more than half the debt owed by low‑ and middle‑income countries.”
“This is not a financing gap—it is a political failure.”
* Development financing model fails: A decade of mobilizing private investors for development yielded insufficient capital and imposed social and environmental harm.