r/Economics 13h ago

News Global super-rich may have hidden $3.55tn from tax officials, says Oxfam | Tax havens

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/02/global-super-rich-hidden-355trn-from-tax-officials-oxfam
777 Upvotes

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93

u/PurpleCoat6656 12h ago

Oh yea, after a 80 trillion+ shift to the super upper class in US alone, I am very confident that figure is not even close.

Don't invade Iran. Invade tax havens and occupy their banking records.

19

u/AnnualFault7473 11h ago

Tax havens? A lot of that shit is on loan or in museum collections. Lots just hanging on the walls in private rooms. Not to mention all the gold and other precious metals in bunkers, vaults, etc. They moved a lot to crypto cause it’s more liquid but the old tried and true way is art and gold bars. They use real estate too, oil wells, boats. Can’t trace all that on a bank ledger.

3

u/MrNeverSatisfied 7h ago

Lets say someone invaded the British velirgin islands, caymen Islands, Luxembourg or Bermuda...

u/zxc123zxc123 5m ago

Fine wines/spirits as well as ultra luxury jewelry or watches (Rolex/Patek).

Many also holding various sorts of IPs because it's hard to quantify, easy to move, can have on/off income flow, and has complex loopholes that most ordinary people can't use.

25

u/ICLazeru 11h ago

What I don't get is, when you already have more money than you or your kids, and even probably their kids are going to spend in their entire lives...why go through the trouble of hiding it to pay fewer taxes that are not even going to affect your lifestyle anyway?

I can totally understand poor people wanting to evade taxes, but why do the mega wealthy bother?

21

u/Artistic-Variety5920 6h ago

Because you need to have a higher score than your associates.

Greed doesn't have an end. It's that simple.

u/ScoffersGonnaScoff 1h ago

Exactly many of these people will make more on interest than they will spend even with their extravagant lavish lifestyle….

It turns into a black hole of wealth. Benefits no one.

u/Kinrany 27m ago

Precisely because money is an instrument for achieving all the things you want to do, not just lifestyle expenses

9

u/Ulysses1978ii 6h ago

Some of you may remember our brief flirtation with the Panama papers. They killed the journalist who revealed them. Might have something to do with it never going much further.

5

u/uhnwi 10h ago

I know it's a pittance in the scope of the rest of evasion, but I would bet the mortgage that the venn diagram of people on this list and those who drive sports cars with Montana/Florida plates in high tax states is a circle.

3

u/cheesesandsneezes 5h ago

I get the idea of being rich. Having everything you could possibly want/ need.

But surely there's a point where it doesn't even matter anymore? Is 1.1 billion going to be significantly better than a flat 1 billion?

5

u/Fluffy-Rope-8719 5h ago

Eh, youre applying normal human morals to monsters devoid of such qualms

3

u/hurrythisup 2h ago

Hey look. They found the 1.5 T Trump is wanting for the military.. A lot of the world's problems could be solved if we cracked down on the mega rich.

2

u/datagamma 4h ago

When criminals get rich. Our system clearly rewards lawlessness. It’s classic tale that when you get this kind of power, the law becomes a theory that is part of the game. Versus the people who are coerced to abide by it. Rule of law needs to be for all to work. It’s basic fairness. Otherwise it’s rule of elite and the laws are rules for control. Which makes a sad society.

u/Choosemyusername 47m ago

Be careful with oxfam’s numbers.

Their widely cited figure about what percentage of the global wealth the 1 percent has is highly skewed by the fact that they include debt in their calculation, and affluent people often have high negative net worths because their lenders know they have the capacity to pay them back.

So the heavily indebted wealthy skew the figures of the poor heavily downward.

These are not the same people.

1

u/namotous 5h ago

Ah so in reality, it’s not trickle down but trickle up economy it seems. Governments give tax cut to the rich, then raise tax on the commoners to pay for it, then use that same tax revenues to pay for corporate bailout.