G7 energy billionaires pocketed $300 million daily from U.S.-Iran war: Oxfam

Forty-one energy billionaires across G7 countries have amassed $23.5 billion since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, equivalent to about $301 million per day, according to the latest Oxfam report.

Oxfam, a global confederation of non-governmental organisations, said in its report published on Monday that since the wave of global crises began in 2020—including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the “unlawful” Iran war—billionaires globally have increased their wealth by $9.8 trillion.

Oxfam noted that the data is based on an analysis of Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List as of 18 May 2026.

It cited the skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries that have grappled with years of economic uncertainty, debt crisis and climate threats.

Meanwhile, the group projected that the profits of six major oil companies would increase by $68 billion, or 80 per cent above pre-war forecasts. Their cumulative earnings are projected to reach $152 billion in 2026, roughly $416 million daily.

It also estimated that profits at three of the world’s largest fertiliser producers would rise by $928 million, representing a 23 per cent increase over pre-war projections.

Some of the largest corporations based in G7 countries are projected to earn profits that exceed pre-war forecasts by an average of $413 million.

“Conflict devastates countries and costs countless lives, yet for some it is extraordinarily profitable,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

He added, “This is a brutal system that redistributes wealth upwards—from workers to shareholders, from the poorest to the richest, from those with the least power to those who already have far too much of it. While families are skipping meals and governments slash lifesaving aid, we are witnessing a grotesque billionaire bonanza.”

The organisation cited the United Nations estimate that more than 30 million people worldwide could be pushed into poverty and that food commodity prices rose three times faster between February and April 2026 than in the same period in 2025.

Oxfam noted the crisis in the Middle East—the fifth major global crisis since 2020—had been met with a lack of political will compared with the coordinated responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It noted that debt payments were suspended and that the International Monetary Fund provided countries with emergency loans.

“G7 leaders are doing less than ever to help poorer countries,” Oxfam said, warning that leaders of the G6—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK—must “stop using the U.S. administration’s destructive actions in the global economy and in fueling conflict as an excuse for their own inaction”.

The organisation criticised the G7 for cutting official development assistance (ODA) between 2024 and 2025, noting that aid to the poorest countries was reduced to $48 billion, equivalent to the wealth of billionaires over the period.

“The human cost of the G7’s inaction is catastrophic,” Oxfam said and noted that 44 people need humanitarian emergency aid every minute since the last time France chaired the G7 summit, citing the Ebola crisis in DR Congo and the “genocide” in Gaza.

To address the G7’s “inaction”, it said, “They can cancel debt. They can tax windfall profits and extreme wealth. They can advocate for a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights. They can provide poorer countries with aid. Refusing to act simply because Washington will not join them is not diplomacy—it is cowardice. And it will only accelerate the G6’s slide into global irrelevance.”