Welcome to another week of Shaken Not Burned! 

There are talks of endless economic crises, yet the rich are getting richer. Even though many countries promise a welfare system, healthy job markets, and in general decent quality of life for the masses, the numbers suggest that inequality is only getting worse. 

According to Oxfam, in 2025, billionaire wealth jumped by over 16% to $18.3 trillion compared to 2024 levels. This massive amount of money is spread among only 3,000 people, who are worth an average of $6.1 billion each. Perhaps more shockingly, billionaire wealth has gone up by 81% in just five years. Is there even a country or industry where average wages have grown at the same rate since 2020?

Meanwhile, 25% of the global population can’t afford regular meals, and nearly half are living in poverty. But why are we talking about this in a sustainability podcast? One of the central tenets of Shaken Not Burned is pursuing a just transition: if the world's richest 1% own around 45% of the global wealth, we can’t expect this money to be invested in a way that will benefit all people in an equitable manner. 

In this week’s episode, Giulia interviews Julia Davies, impact investor at We Have The Power and a member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, on what we can do to recalibrate the world's wealth system.

For Julia and her fellow Patriotic Millionaires UK members, the answer is simple: increase taxes on wealth, not on work. The organisation proposes a tax of 2% on wealth above £10 million – however, the UK government doesn’t seem to be listening.

The conversation explores the implications of wealth extremism, emphasising the importance of community solutions and systemic change to address these pressing issues, advocating for a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

Crucially, all of us can do something about this, as individuals or business owners: support the campaign and “vote with our wallets”: that is, buy from ethical companies and small- and medium-sized businesses, rather than massive corporations.

Further reading:

• Patriotic Millionaires UK’s Ten tax reforms to raise £60 billion for public services and a fairer economy 

• Oxfam’s report Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power 

• Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires call for higher taxes on super-rich

• Why progressive taxation matters

• Yes, there really was a ‘March for Billionaires’ rally in San Francisco

• Scale of extreme wealth in UK revealed

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