richest

Nov. 3 (UPI) — The United States’ 10 richest billionaires saw their wealth grow last year by nearly $700 billion, according to a new report published Monday by Oxfam, which warns the Trump administration is worsening U.S. inequality.

The report states that in the past year, the wealth of U.S. billionaires grew by $698 billion.

Oxfam, the British-founded confederation of nearly two dozen non-governmental organizations, citing Federal Reserve data, found that between 1989 and 2022, a household in the top 0.1% gained $39.5 million, while a household in the top 1% gained about $8.3 million. Meanwhile, a bottom 20% household saw its wealth only grow by $8,465.

This equals to the poorest household in the top 1% having gained 987 times more wealth than the richest household in the bottom 20%, according to the report.

It continues by stating that while the wealth of working- and middle-class families have barely grown in more than three decades, America’s richest have seen their purses overflow.

As evidence, Oxfam said the share of national income going to the top 1% doubled from 1980 to 2022, while the share going to the bottom 50% decreased by one-third.

It also pointed to the top 1% owning half of the entire stock market, while the bottom half of Americans only hold 1.1%.

“The data confirms what people across our nation already know instinctively: the new American oligarchy is here,” Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s president and CEO, said in a statement accompanying the publication of the report.

“Billionaires and mega-corporations are booming while working families struggle to afford housing, healthcare and groceries.”

The report warns that the Trump administration is taking actions that threaten to worsen inequality in the United States.

According to Oxfam, the Trump administration, backed by a Republican-controlled Congress, “has moved with staggering speed and scale to carry out a relentless attack on working class families, and use the power of the office to enrich the wealthy and well-connected.”

Maxman said the Trump administration and congressional Republicans “risk turbocharging” this inequality, while adding that what they are doing isn’t new, but what is different “is how much undemocratic power they’ve now amassed.”

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle, powered by multibillion-dollar orders, sent Oracle stock shooting up.

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has wrested the title of the world’s richest person from longtime holder Elon Musk.

On Wednesday, as stock in Ellison’s software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading, Ellison’s net worth surpassed the Tesla CEO, according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. As of 3pm in New York (19:00 GMT), Oracle stock is up 34.4 percent for the day.

Ellison, 81, is now worth $393bn, according to Bloomberg. That is several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest person for four years running. Stock in one of Musk’s biggest holdings, Tesla, has been moving in the opposite direction of Oracle’s, dropping 14 percent so far this year as of Tuesday.

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle, powered by multibillion-dollar orders from customers as the AI race heats up.

Ellison’s net worth is largely derived from his 41 percent stake in Oracle.

Another news organisation with a long history of tallying the world’s richest, Forbes, still has Musk at the top, at $439bn. Bloomberg put his net worth at $385bn. The difference is in how the two estimate the value of Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, among other private holdings.

It comes as Tesla shareholders have offered Musk a $1 trillion compensation package.

With Ellison’s surging fortune on Wednesday, he could fund the lifestyles of five million US families for a year, about the entire population of Florida, allowing them to all quit their jobs, assuming the US median household income.

When you think of the world’s richest countries, this tiny European country may not immediately come to mind. But booming steel and logistics industries have made this nation a strong financial hub.

When you ponder the world’s richest nations, you might instinctively think of powerhouses like Germany, Dubai and maybe even America.

It’s common to assume that global superpowers would naturally top the list of the richest countries. However, the true answer lies in a petite European nation with a population just north of 650,000.

Luxembourg, known as the financial hub of the globe, outperformed countries such as Qatar and Sweden to claim a top spot on Global Finance’s list of the world’s richest countries last year. A study by Global Finance looked at the Gross Domestic Product purchasing power parity (GDP-PPP) worldwide, and named Luxembourg as one of the wealthiest nations.

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With a GDP per capita of $143,743 in international dollars (approximately £109,820), Luxembourg is more than twice as wealthy as the UK, which has a current GDP per capita of £58,880.

The report also showed that from 2010 to 2024, Luxembourg saw a steady rise in its GDP per capita, consistently ranking near or at the top compared to other rich countries.

This diminutive country, nestled between Germany, France, and Belgium, is renowned for being a financial centre. Home to over 155 banks, this small nation is particularly appealing to foreign investors and has earned a worldwide reputation for being business-friendly.

With robust sectors in tourism, information technology, and logistics, Luxembourg’s GDP punches well above its weight. The country also boasts a thriving steel production industry, providing employment for a significant number of people, reports the Express.

In 2023 alone, Luxembourg brought in $31.6 million (£24.1 million) from its total exports, led by iron products, cars and vehicle parts, gas turbines, and adhesive plastics. Home to ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker responsible for eight percent of global steel output, the steel industry still makes up about seven percent of the nation’s economy.

According to Global Finance, Luxembourg splashes its considerable wealth on providing top-notch living standards for its residents, boasting some of the finest housing, healthcare and education in Europe.

Luxembourg isn’t alone as a small yet affluent country making the list – Singapore, San Marino and Switzerland also bagged spots in the top ten. However, the UK didn’t manage to crack the top ten or even the top 20, instead landing at number 31.

A RUSSIAN oligarch’s estranged wife has won a six-year fight to drag her divorce battle into the English courts.

Natalia Potanina secured a landmark Court of Appeal ruling on Thursday to sue her billionaire ex-husband Vladimir Potanin, who is said to be worth around £15.7billion.

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Potanin is described as Russia’s second richest man and a pal of Vladimir Putin through their shared love of ice hockey.

Potanin is the chief executive of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest palladium producer and a global nickel giant.

But he was sanctioned by the UK and US in 2022 after Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The former couple wed in Russia in 1983, where they lived for their entire married life and raised three children.

They split in acrimonious fashion, with Potanin claiming the marriage ended in 2007.

Potanina insists they only separated in 2013, with a Russian court finalising the divorce a year later.

He has previously claimed their marriage ended when her husband calmly told her over tea that he was leaving her for a younger employee.

She said at first she thought it was a “badly-worded joke” but was later told she “didn’t need money” when the subject of a financial settlement arose.

The pair first met as penniless students in the 1970s, when Russia was still under communism.

Potanina argues that her husband only built his fortune after their marriage, and that she supported him throughout his rise.

Despite his £15billion fortune, Potanina was awarded just £30.9million in the Russian courts – less than one per cent of the family wealth.

Lawyers for Potanin argue she actually received around £63m, but she insists the sum barely scratched the surface of their assets.

Now, after years of legal wrangling, Potanina has been cleared to bring a claim in London for financial relief – setting the stage for what could become the world’s biggest-ever marital split.

She is seeking half of her ex-husband’s beneficial interest in shares in Norilsk Nickel, along with half of the dividends paid on those shares since 2014.

She also wants half the value of a lavish Moscow mansion known as The Autumn House, on which the couple splashed out around £111million.

She is thought to be seeking around £5billion in total.

At the heart of earlier disputes was the couple’s palatial family home in Nemchinovo, 17 miles west of Moscow, where they lived with their three children – daughter Anastasia, and sons Ivan and Vasily.

Also up for grabs were two superyachts, including “The Anastasia,” named after their daughter, and “The Nirvana.”

Potanina’s legal team told the court she had earned her share of the fortune through years of marriage and by being the “main carer” of their children.

Her barrister, Charles Howard KC, branded the earlier dismissal of her case “inconsistent and illogical,” accusing the judge of falling into Potanin’s trap of repeatedly labelling her a “divorce tourist.”

Potanin’s lawyers, led by Lord Faulks KC, countered that the couple had “no connection with this jurisdiction during the marriage” and that Potanina only had “recent and modest connections” to England when she applied.

London’s High Court originally threw out her claim in 2019, warning that allowing it would mean “no limit to divorce tourism.”

That decision was overturned in 2021 by the Court of Appeal, only for Potanin to win a narrow 3-2 victory in the Supreme Court last year, which sent the case back to be reconsidered.

Now, judges Lord Justice Moylan, Lady Justice Falk and Lord Justice Cobb have sided with Potanina once again, ruling she had “substantial grounds” to pursue her claim in England.

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They said there was evidence she had “very largely severed her ties with Russia” and that her connection to the country was “increasingly tenuous.”

The ruling added: “The discrepancy between her award of the marital assets and the husband’s retained share was significant.

“The discrepancy between what she had recovered in Russia compared with what she would have recovered had the case been heard in this jurisdiction was equally significant.”

The Sun reported in 2016 that Potanina was living “in exile” in central London, near Westminster Abbey.

She said at the time to be fearing that if she returned to Russia her passport could be seized, preventing her from visiting her son studying in New York.

She also accused her husband of offering her only medical insurance, a driver, and maintenance for their youngest child, rather than a fair settlement.

The blockbuster ruling reignites fears that London will become the “divorce capital of the world.”

Jennifer Headon, head of international family law at Birketts LLP, said the High Court had already warned such a move could open the floodgates to “limitless” divorce tourism.

Sarah Jane Lenihan, partner at Dawson Cornwell, said few had expected such an outcome, asking: “The question now is whether it will open the door for others who have divorced overseas to seek a second bite at the cherry in England.”

Sital Fontenelle, head of family law at Kingsley Napley LLP, said the ruling reinforced the UK’s status as the “divorce capital of the world” and left the “door still open” for future claims.

Peter Burgess, partner at Burgess Mee, added that aspiring “divorce tourists” might now wait to demonstrate their links to England at a full hearing rather than being knocked back early.

She has previously said her situation reflects the discrimination faced by many women in Russia, where “the law is male, the ideology is male,” adding that she had been “deprived of money and driven out of the house.”

Potanina’s solicitor, Frances Hughes of Hughes Fowler Carruthers, hailed the ruling as a “second vindication” of her client’s case, saying Potanina was delighted and now hoped the matter could be “resolved without further delay.”

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A 80s movie bombshell looked unrecognizable after becoming the ‘world’s richest actress’ – despite quitting Hollywood.

The star, now 59, appeared alongside a popular TV actor in a classic 80s film.

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One of her early films, 1981’s Endless Love, was Tom Cruise‘s film debut.

The actress’ most recent regular role on television ended in 2014.

Jami Gertz appeared in 1987 flick The Lost Boys, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland, who played David.

She played the role of Star, a member of David’s vampire gang, and is a half-vampire after resisting the urge for human blood.

Almost four decades on, Jami looked unrecognisable as she enjoyed lunch in West Hollywood.

The star headed to the San Vicente Bungalows – an exclusive private members club known for its celebrity clientele.

She wore a powder blue shirt, accompanied by white trousers and an orange satchel.

According to MailOnline, Jami is reported to be the “richest actress in the world.”

In 1989, she tied the knot with businessman Tony Ressler – who became a major player in private equity.

The now-64-year-old co-founded Apollo Global Mangement and Ares Management.

Forbes’ prestigious annual list reports Tony is currently credited as being worth $14.2 billion.

Elsewhere, Jami herself is reportedly worth a staggering $12 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Jami and Tony own the Atlanta Hawks basketball team, having acquired it in 2015.

They made the purchase alongside former basketball player Grant Hill.

Meanwhile, Tony was previously a contender to buy Chelsea Football Club.

On television, Jami most recently starred in sci-fi sitcom The Neighbors.

Created by This Is Us boss Dan Fogelman, she portrayed Debbie Weaver.

Her most recent film, romantic comedy I Want You Back, was released in 2022.

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