Thousands Mobilise Across Global South to Challenge Billionaire Rule and Rising Inequality Ahead of Davos

18 January 2025

Davos, Switzerland (18 January 2025)—As global elites convene once again at the World Economic Forum in Davos, a powerful movement of over 30,000 activists across nearly 50 cities is rising to demand economic justice, climate action, and an end to billionaires' hold on democracy. 

The campaign—organized by Fight Inequality Alliance—includes a bold, unavoidable message: “TAX THE SUPER RICH!” was projected onto a mountainside near a private airport outside of Davos next to the faces of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, in an image that was more than 400 meters wide. Another image declared: “LET’S DRAW THE RED LINE & STOP PAYING BILLIONAIRES’ TAX BILL!” 

With these dramatic visuals and other symbolic “red line actions” across the world—from Delhi to Mexico City, from Lagos to Lahore to Harare—the movement is drawing a firm boundary against inequality, and calling on leaders to adopt the solutions needed by the 99%, including taxes on the super rich, investment in public services, tackling the climate crisis, and an end to crony capitalism.

The World Economic Forum is a potent symbol of the current system, in which the world’s richest 1% exert a powerful influence on politics across the globe. Coinciding with the inauguration of the billionaire Donald Trump, this year’s gathering in Davos raises important questions about democracy, inequality, and the power of the super-rich.

“We’re done watching another ski resort gathering of the 1% as the wealth of the richest continues to rise to grotesque levels. Meanwhile, people are losing their homes to climate disasters and struggling to cover their basic needs,” said Jenny Ricks, General Secretary of the Fight Inequality Alliance.

“Davos is just one example,” said Ricks, who joined the mobilisation in Lusaka, Zambia. “We’re facing rule by a billionaire class who are quickly becoming outright oligarchs. Democracy is in crisis across the globe. A further explosion of inequality will result. For people on the frontlines of inequality—at the sharp end of this system—it’s time to draw a red line on billionaire rule.”

“These global actions present a powerful alternative,” Ricks said. “This isn’t just about protesting. It's about showing the world that change is possible. The global economy is meant to serve all of us, not just the super-rich – but the dominance of the billionaire ruling class makes that impossible. For real change to happen, we have to bust open these elitist discussions and start listening to solutions from people who are on the frontlines of inequality.”
 

The rich get richer

1. Since 2020, the world’s five richest men have doubled their fortunes. Source
2. 63% of all new wealth generated since 2020 has been captured by the richest 1%, while just 37% has gone to the rest of the world put together. Source
3. There are 16 people in the world who – if 99% of their wealth vanished overnight – would still be billionaires. Source
4. The world’s richest 1.5% (those with wealth greater than $1 million) own 47.5% of the world’s wealth. Source

The impact of inequality

1. Five billion people are poorer now than they were in 2020. Source
2. An average global inflation rate of 6.8% in 2023 has brought about rampant increases in the cost of housing, healthcare, and energy–while wages have remained stagnant. Source
3. Over the past two years, the wages of nearly 800 million workers failed to keep up with inflation, resulting in an average annual loss equivalent to 25 days of income. Source
4. Just 0.4% of the world's 1,600 biggest corporations have publicly committed to paying their workers a living wage and to supporting a living wage in their value chains. Source
5. Governments sought to raise revenue by hiking taxes on the working class, leading to protests in places like Angola, Bangladesh, France, India, Kenya and Pakistan.

The solutions

FIA is mobilising to pressure governments across the globe to prioritise the 99% – by making major public investments in education, healthcare, housing, and tackling the climate and environmental crisis, and ensuring the cost of living is affordable. FIA argues that reforming tax systems to ensure that the super rich are taxed more is a critical part of the solution.

“We need an international tax on the super-rich to help level the playing field,” said Andrew Karamagi, Principal Political Advisor at FIA. “Major investments in public services and an ambitious, well-funded climate deal are also essential to achieving justice for billions around the world, especially in the Global South. If we fail to act, the consequences will be catastrophic. An entrenched billionaire class will undercut democratic systems around the world.”

The organisers stressed that urgent action is critical to avert disaster down the road.

“We’ve seen a huge wave of social unrest across Africa over the past year,” said Karamagi, who joined the mobilisation in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday. “Those kinds of movements will continue to surge as millions demand a fair future. And the climate crisis will spiral even further out of control, inflicting its worst punishments on those who did so little to create it. This is not a distant threat—it’s happening now, and it will affect everyone on the planet.”

Success stories

Mobilisation led by FIA and its allies has already led to significant policy changes in several countries. 

1. Pressure from FIA and its partners mobilised progress toward an international tax on the super-rich, which gained unprecedented support at the G20 summit in Brazil in November 2024. 
2. Progressive tax reform in Mexico seemed impossible, but FIA pressure in the country forced the government to open the debate and introduce a constitutional tax reform that has opened the path to progressive tax reform. 
3. In India, FIA ran a 100-day campaign to defend democracy and the rights of all people in elections, achieving a change in political power structures.

“Our people power gives us hope, and our work is just getting started,” said Ricks. “Imagine a world where governments everywhere prioritised the 99%, by making major public investments in education, healthcare, and housing—and by tackling the climate crisis and ensuring the cost of living is affordable. That’s the world we’re fighting for.”
 

About Fight Inequality Alliance

The Fight Inequality Alliance (FIA) is a growing global movement of people, organisations, and social movements on the frontlines of inequality united in the struggle to address inequality in all its forms. Together, we envision a world where power and wealth are redistributed to create a just, equal, and sustainable society. To learn more, visit www.fightinequality.org.