The 12 richest billionaires globally own more wealth than the poorest half of humanity.
A report from Oxfam, says the concentration of extreme wealth is driving an inequality emergency and eroding democracy.
It would take just over seven hours for the average Irish billionaire to make the average person’s annual income, according to the research.
The 'Resisting the Rule of the Rich' report shows the country's 11 billionaires are wealthier than 3.5 million Irish people combined.
The collective wealth of billionaires across the world last year surged by $2.5 trillion.
Data also shows billionaires are four thousand times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people.
9 of the top 10 social media companies are owned by just 6 billionaires and 8 of the top 10 AI companies are billionaire-run.
Oxfam is now calling on government to fairly tax the super-rich, regulate big tech and fight disinformation and hate online.
