Why investment emissions dominate at the top
For most individuals, the largest emission categories are home energy, transport, flights, and diet. For the ultra-wealthy, those categories are dwarfed by financed emissions — the greenhouse gases attributable to their investment holdings. Oxfam’s 2022 report Carbon Billionaires analysed the investment portfolios of 125 of the world’s richest individuals and found that their average annual investment emissions ran at approximately 3 million tons CO₂e. The same report found that billionaires invest, on average, twice as much in polluting industries — fossil fuels, cement, steel — as the Standard & Poor 500 average.
Research by Wilk and Barros (2021), published in The Conversation, estimated the footprints of 20 high-profile wealthy individuals using publicly available data on private jet usage, yacht ownership, multiple residences, and investment holdings. Their sample averaged 8,190 tons CO₂e in 2018 — against a US average of approximately 15 tons CO₂e per person in the same year. The figures carry significant uncertainty: many assets and investments are not publicly disclosed, meaning these are floor estimates rather than complete pictures.
Scale of the gap
Global average: ~4 tons CO₂e/year · US average: ~15 tons CO₂e/year · Billionaire average (Oxfam 2022): ~3,000,000 tons CO₂e/year · Sample of 20 wealthy individuals (Wilk & Barros 2021): ~8,190 tons CO₂e/year
Estimated emissions by individual — top of the sample
The chart below shows estimated annual emissions in tons CO₂e for individuals in the Wilk and Barros (2021) sample, based on publicly available information on dwellings, yachts, private jets, and other transportation. All figures are estimates with material uncertainty — individuals with limited public disclosure are likely underrepresented.
Source: Wilk and Barros (2021), The Conversation / CDPHE. Estimates based on publicly available data. Values in tons CO₂e. Treat as floor estimates — individuals with limited public disclosure are likely underrepresented.
What drives a billionaire-scale footprint
In the Wilk and Barros sample, yacht ownership accounts for the largest share of personal consumption emissions for those who own them — a large superyacht can produce 7,000–15,000 tons CO₂e per year in fuel alone. Private jet usage, multiple large residences, and helicopter fleets contribute additional thousands of tons. Roman Abramovich’s estimated 33,860 tons CO₂e reflects primarily his fleet of yachts, including one of the largest privately owned vessels in the world.
At the Oxfam level — 3 million tons CO₂e per billionaire per year — investment portfolios dominate entirely. A stake in an oil and gas company, a cement manufacturer, or a coal power operator carries attributed Scope 3 financed emissions that dwarf any personal consumption. The PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials) standard, which Decarb uses for personal finance emissions, allocates a share of a portfolio company’s emissions to each investor in proportion to their ownership stake. For a billionaire with concentrated fossil fuel holdings, that attribution can reach the millions of tons.
A note on data limitations
All estimates for named individuals are based on publicly available information and carry significant uncertainty. Private assets, undisclosed investments, and offshore holdings are not included. The figures should be read as indicative floor estimates — the actual footprints are likely higher for individuals with limited public disclosure. Decarb does not independently verify these figures; they are reproduced from Wilk and Barros (2021) and Oxfam (2022) for context.
What this means for individual action
The scale of billionaire emissions does not make individual action meaningless — it contextualises it. The average American footprint of approximately 15 tons CO₂e per year is roughly 200,000 times smaller than a billionaire average, but it is also roughly four times higher than the global average of 4 tons CO₂e. The 1.5°C compatible per-person budget, as estimated by the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2022), runs at approximately 2.5 tons CO₂e per year by 2030. The gap between current US averages and that budget is large and actionable through the categories Decarb measures: energy, transport, flights, diet, goods, and finance.
The finance category is relevant here. While most individuals do not hold billionaire-scale investment portfolios, savings accounts, pension funds, and investment accounts do carry attributed financed emissions that Decarb includes in its calculator. For an individual with $50,000 invested, the financed emissions contribution is modest — but it exists and it is measurable. For more on how Decarb handles financed emissions, see Decarb’s methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Which person has the biggest carbon footprint in the world?
No definitive answer exists because many billionaire assets and investment portfolios are not publicly disclosed. Based on publicly available data, Roman Abramovich had the highest estimated personal consumption footprint in the Wilk and Barros (2021) sample at approximately 33,860 tons CO₂e, driven primarily by yacht ownership. At the portfolio level, Oxfam’s 2022 analysis found billionaires with concentrated fossil fuel investments carry estimated footprints in the millions of tons CO₂e annually.
How much does a billionaire emit compared to the average person?
According to Oxfam’s 2022 Carbon Billionaires report, the average billionaire emits approximately 3 million tons CO₂e per year — over a million times the global average of roughly 4 tons CO₂e per person. The 20-individual sample from Wilk and Barros (2021) averaged 8,190 tons CO₂e, against a US average of approximately 15 tons CO₂e in the same year.
Why do billionaires have such large carbon footprints?
Two factors dominate. At the personal consumption level: superyachts, private jets, multiple large residences, and helicopter fleets each produce thousands of tons CO₂e per year. At the investment level: portfolio holdings in fossil fuel companies, cement manufacturers, and other carbon-intensive industries carry attributed financed emissions that can reach millions of tons annually. Oxfam found that up to 70% of billionaire emissions derive from investments rather than personal consumption.
Does individual action matter given billionaire emissions?
The scale disparity is real but does not make individual action irrelevant. The average American footprint of 15 tons CO₂e is four times the global average and six times the 1.5°C-compatible budget estimated by the IPCC. Structural change and individual action operate in parallel — neither negates the other. Understanding your own footprint, identifying the highest-impact reductions, and making those reductions is measurable and meaningful regardless of what others emit.
Does my investment portfolio contribute to my carbon footprint?
Yes. The PCAF standard allocates a share of a portfolio company’s emissions to each investor in proportion to their ownership stake. For most individuals, financed emissions from savings and pension accounts are a modest fraction of their total footprint — but they are real and measurable. Decarb includes a finance category in its calculator using PCAF-aligned emission factors. For an individual with $50,000 in a standard diversified fund, the estimated contribution runs at approximately 0.5–1.5 tons CO₂e per year depending on the fund’s sector composition.
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Sources
- Oxfam International, Carbon Billionaires: The investment emissions of the world’s richest people. Oxford: Oxfam GB, 2022. oxfam.org
- Wilk, R. and Barros, B., “Private planes, mansions and superyachts: What gives billionaires like Elon Musk and Bill Gates such a massive carbon footprint.” The Conversation, 2021. theconversation.com
- IPCC, Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022.
- PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials), The Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry. 2022. carbonaccountingfinancials.com
