It’s hard to ignore the numbers staring us in the face. In just the past year, the collective wealth of America’s 10 richest people exploded by $698 billion, a windfall turbocharged by President Donald Trump’s massive tax overhaul and a stock market that’s been on steroids since his January inauguration.

That’s according to a blistering new report from Oxfam America, released Monday, which doesn’t mince words: Trump’s policies are “driving inequality to new heights” and kickstarting “the rise of a new American oligarchy.”

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The centerpiece? Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” rammed through Congress in May. Oxfam calls it “one of the single largest transfers of wealth upwards in decades,” slashing corporate tax rates and handing the ultra-rich a get-out-of-jail-free card on their tax bills.

By 2027, the top 0.1 percent of earners will see their annual taxes drop by an estimated $311,000 each. Meanwhile, families scraping by on less than $15,000 a year? They’re looking at higher taxes.

Rebecca Riddell, Oxfam’s senior policy lead for economic justice, put it bluntly: “Inequality is a policy choice.” She pointed out that the report covers wealth gains from September 2024 to September 2025—spanning the tail end of Biden’s term and Trump’s full-throttle return—but the real acceleration kicked in under the new administration.

“Policymakers have been choosing inequality, and those choices have had bipartisan support,” Riddell added, nodding to four decades of tax cuts and gutted social programs backed by both parties.

Dig into the Federal Reserve data Oxfam crunched from 1989 to 2022, and it’s even grimmer: The top 1 percent of households raked in 101 times more wealth than the median family—and nearly 1,000 times more than the bottom fifth.

That translated to $8.35 million per household for the elite, versus a measly $83,000 for the average Joe. Today, over 40 percent of Americans—including half of all kids—live in low-income households, barely above the poverty line.

Among 38 rich nations, the U.S. ranks dead last in relative poverty, second-worst in child poverty, and near the bottom for life expectancy.

The Trump’s Wealth Balloons

Sen. Elizabeth Warren didn’t hold back in the report’s foreword: “We watched the wealthiest among us accumulate unimaginable fortunes while paying virtually nothing. The result is an economy that works great for those at the very top and leaves everyone else hanging on by their fingernails. This didn’t happen by accident. It happened through deliberate policy choices—choices we can unmake.”

The Guardian echoed Oxfam’s findings the same day, highlighting how Trump’s bill funneled cash upward while dismantling worker protections and safety nets.

It’s not just the top 10—Forbes tracked Trump’s own fortune doubling to $5.1 billion in a year, fueled by Truth Social stock surges and crypto plays like TrumpCoin, with spikes timed perfectly to his election win and inauguration.

And let’s not forget Melania’s memecoin, which has been accused of defrauding investors.

By September, Forbes pegged him at $7.3 billion, a $3 billion jump, thanks to memecoins and deregulation that let his family cash in big.

One particular crypto influencer said he felt ‘scammed’ by President Donald Trump’s crypto dinner, describing being underwhelmed.

Elon Musk, Trump’s biggest donor and now co-head of the slash-and-burn “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), saw his wealth balloon too.

One April day alone, after Trump paused his tariff chaos, the top 10 billionaires—including Musk—gained $135 billion as markets roared back.

Musk pocketed $35.9 billion in that single rally.

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It’s Not About Rich Folks Getting Richer Though

See, here’s where it gets dangerous. This isn’t just about rich folks getting richer—it’s oligarchy in action, where billionaires bankroll the machine that keeps them on top. Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder and Vance mentor, poured millions into JD Vance’s Senate run and has long pushed for gutting government oversight.

Thiel’s vision? A “new world currency” free from government control, echoing his funding of groups tied to Project 2025—the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for Trump’s agenda, backed by over $120 million from just six billionaire families since 2020.

Project 2025 isn’t some side note; it’s the playbook for loyalty purges, dismantling agencies, and stacking courts — as we’ve seen with mass political retribution and the firing of those in government who have tested Trump.

Donors like the Uihleins (Uline packaging) funneled $13.4 million to its advisory groups.

Musk and Thiel aren’t just cheering from the sidelines—they’re in the room, with Musk dodging scrutiny on his own contracts while slashing rivals.

Scholars are sounding alarms. A New York Times editorial board piece laid out 12 markers of autocratic slide: Trump attacking universities, stifling dissent, and rewriting rules to entrench power.

Former officials warned in October that America is on a “trajectory” toward “competitive authoritarianism,” where elections happen but are rigged for the executive.

Pippa Norris, a Harvard expert, told the Times we’re risking “accelerated institutional backsliding” into electoral autocracy.

Democracy is Bending Away from the American People

It’s the second-term playbook: Orbán in Hungary, Erdoğan in Turkey—they learned on the job first time around, then crushed opposition later. Trump’s already floating third-term loopholes and loyalty tests for generals.

As one Guardian op-ed put it, “things tend to only get really bad when they enter office the second time.”

The White House shrugs it off, claiming Trump’s first term cut inequality (it didn’t).

But the math doesn’t lie. When billionaires like Musk, Thiel, and their Project 2025 backers hold the reins, democracy bends toward them.

Oxfam’s fix? Tax the rich, bolster unions, reform campaigns. Without pushback—protests, courts, voters—this oligarchy hardens into something uglier.We’ve seen it before in history.

The question is whether we’ll let it happen here.

Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity

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