Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires have signed an open letter demanding higher taxes on the super-rich as the World Economic Forum in Switzerland gets underway.

The statement, signed by high-profile figures including Ocar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo and musician Brian Eno, warns that the extremely wealthy are having a negative effect on the world.

Highlighting reports that the richest 1 per cent of people own more than 95 per cent of the rest of the world’s population combined, the letter calls on global leaders to close the widening gap.

“A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet,” it states.

“What we treasure, rich and poor alike, is being eaten away by those intent on growing the gulf between their vast power and everyone else,” the letter continues.

“We all know this. When even millionaires, like us, recognise that extreme wealth has cost everyone else everything else, there can be no doubt that society is dangerously teetering off the edge of a precipice.”

The statement has been timed to coincide with the annual WEF, which is being held in Davos this week. More than 3,000 people, including a record 60 world leaders, are gathering in the town of in the Swiss Alps this week.

The Time to Win campaign, organised by Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity and Oxfam, has a simple message for the forum; the wealthiest need to pay more.

“You already have a simple and effective solution, supported by millionaires and the public alike. Stop squandering the time we have—tax the super rich,” the group’s statement said.

“As millionaires who stand shoulder to shoulder with all people, we demand it. And as our elected representatives—whether it’s those of you at Davos, local councillors, city mayors, or regional leaders—it’s your duty to deliver it. So tax us. Tax the super rich.

“Millionaires like us refuse to be silent. It is time to be counted. Tax us and make sure the next fifty years meet the promise of progress for everyone.”

US president Donald Trump’s attendance has been the focus of attention due to his threats to seize Danish territory Greenland, and impose tariffs on allies who don’t back him.

Trump, himself a billionaire, has assembled the wealthiest cabinet in US history in his second term. Their combined worth last year was $7.5 billion, according to Forbes.

The US president has also enjoyed support from the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who oversaw the cost-cutting DOGE department in the early days of Trump’s second term.

Without naming names, the campaign raises concerns that the undue influence of the wealthiest in society is putting the world on an “obscene trajectory”.

“Last year the rise in billionaire wealth was unprecedented,” executive director of Oxfam International, Amitabh Behar, said. “The super-rich are being given complete free rein. It is beyond comprehension that the richest 1% now own three times more than the world’s total public wealth combined.

“It’s a stark indictment that illustrates just how nonsensical the gulf now is between oligarchs and the rest of humanity. Governments must implement taxes on the super-rich now and prioritise reducing inequality. The world cannot continue on this obscene trajectory.” (Independent)