The total wealth of people who have more than US$1 billion (R$5 billion) in Latin America rose 498% from 2000 to 2026, according to a study by the (International Fiscal Observatory) released this Tuesday (April 14, 2026). The total went from US$117 billion to US$700 billion in 26 years.
The president’s government (PT) commissioned the study through the Regional Tax Cooperation Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil is the temporary president of the platform in 2025 and 2026. Read (PDF – 1 MB).
French economist Gabriel Zucman, director of the ITO, said that the increase in billionaires’ wealth demonstrates that it is necessary to increase the taxes that this group pays.
“When Brazil put taxation of the super-rich on the G20 agenda in 2024, it turned a long-ignored issue into a political priority”, Zucman in an article for Poder360 published on Monday (April 13).
The survey was carried out based on the wealth of billionaires published annually by the magazine . It does not consider inflation in the United States since 2000. Adjusted for the (Consumer Price Index), the US$117 billion in 2000 is equivalent to US$229 billion in 2026. The real increase in billionaires’ wealth was 206%.
The list also does not consider new billionaires. A person who had US$515 million in 2000 will have US$1 billion in 2026, adjusted for inflation. It was not on the 2000 list and became part of the 2026 list.
HEALTH TAX
Zucman advocates that people with assets exceeding US$100 million (R$500 million) pay the Imer (Effective Minimum Tax on Wealth).
The proposed tax would be 1% per year on assets. The value would not necessarily be additional. Income tax would be deducted from the total payable. There are simulations in the study with higher rates, 2% and 3%. There are also simulations with a higher equity cutoff line of US$1 billion.
“Billionaires face lower effective tax rates than the rest of the population because they can structure their wealth in such a way as to have little taxable income,” Zucman said.
The study projects revenues of US$2.8 billion (R$14 billion) for Brazil with a tax rate of 1% on assets exceeding US$100 million (R$500 million). It would be US$9.4 billion (R$47 billion) for 3%. There are also simulations for other Latin American countries.
