Group of Seven (G7) summit in Evian, global billionaires have seen their wealth surge by nearly ten trillion Dollars since 2020, while the world’s richest nations have presided over the largest reduction in foreign aid in history. According to a scathing report published ahead of the summit in France, energy billionaires continue to rake in fortunes from the ongoing war involving the United States (US), Israel, and Iran, navigating through what is now the fifth global economic crisis in six years.
In contrast, the G7 nations, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), and the US, slashed aid to the world’s poorest countries by $48 billion between 2024 and 2025. Oxfam noted that this massive shortfall is equivalent to the amount of wealth accumulated by G7 billionaires in just nine days.
The anti-poverty charity highlighted that 41 G7 energy billionaires have increased their fortunes by $23.5 billion since the outbreak of the war with Iran. The windfall extends deeply into the corporate sector, with profits for six of the world’s largest oil firms on track to hit $152 billion in 2026, representing an 80% spike over pre-war forecasts. Additionally, three of the top global fertiliser corporations are projected to see profits jump by 23% above original estimates. Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar stated that conflict is extraordinarily profitable for some, creating a system that redistributes wealth upwards to those who already have far too much, even as families are forced to skip meals.
Oxfam directed its sharpest criticism toward the remaining G6 leaders, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK, urging them to stop using US intransigence and destructive foreign policy as an excuse for their own paralysis. The charity accused French President Emmanuel Macron of capitulating to Washington by scrubbing critical terms like climate and gender from the official summit agenda simply to secure the attendance of US President Donald Trump. Behar warned that refusing to act simply because Washington will not join them is cowardice rather than diplomacy, noting that the G6 possesses immense, independent financial leverage that they are choosing to withhold.
To protect ordinary citizens from spiralling food and energy crises, Oxfam is calling on the G6 to bypass the US if necessary and immediately implement a four-part emergency response. The charity demands heavy taxes on the excessive profits of mega-corporations and the super-rich to curb inequality, alongside the immediate suspension and cancellation of unsustainable bilateral debt payments from low- and middle-income nations. Furthermore, Oxfam states that wealthy nations must restore their foreign aid commitments to meet traditional international targets and push the International Monetary Fund for an immediate new issuance of Special Drawing Rights to inject cash into struggling economies without adding to their debt burdens.
–ChannelAfrica/Oxfam
