Between 2015 and 2024, billionaire wealth increased by 121% globally, according to the 10th UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report. By comparison, the MSCI AC World Index of global equities rose by 73%.
During the 10-year period, the number of billionaires increased from 1,757 to 2,682, peaking in 2021 with 2,686 billionaires. Since 2020, consolidation among China’s billionaires has slowed the global trend.
Chinese billionaire wealth more than doubled from 2015 to 2020, rising from $887.3 billion to $2.1 trillion. Since then, it has fallen to $1.8 trillion. Even so, the overall number of billionaires remains stable, UBS reported.
In contrast, North American billionaire wealth rose from $2.5 trillion in 2015 to $3.8 trillion in 2024, after which it surged by 58.5% to $6.1 trillion, led by industrials and tech billionaires.
In Western Europe, wealth accumulation has slowed slightly since 2020 against a backdrop of higher interest rates. It rose from $1.5 trillion to $2.1 trillion from 2015 to 2020, before increasing to $2.7 trillion by 2024, led by tech billionaires in fields ranging from software to messaging to music streaming.
UBS conducted an online survey between June 18 and Sept. 30 among 82 billionaire clients booked in Switzerland, Europe (excluding Switzerland), Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. Separately, PwC has tracked the wealth of some 2,500 billionaires across 47 markets in the Americas, the Asia/Pacific region and Europe, Middle East and Africa, focusing on the 10 years to April 2, 2024.
Regional Differences
American billionaires accrued the greatest gains in 2024, reinforcing the country’s place as the main center for billionaire entrepreneurs worldwide. Their wealth rose by 27.6% to $5.8 trillion, accounting for more than 40% of billionaire wealth worldwide.
The cohort increased by 11.2% to 835. There were 101 new U.S. billionaires last year, while 20 individuals saw their wealth drop below a billion.
Central and South America’s billionaires also had a good year. In Brazil, 19 new billionaires lifted the total to 60, and wealth increased 37.7% to $154.9 billion. Overall, their wealth advanced by 20.8% to $411.4 billion, while their number grew from 74 to 92.
In Asia/Pacific, the picture was mixed. Billionaires’ wealth from China and Hong Kong fell by 16.8% to $1.8 trillion, while their numbers dropped from 588 to 501. Elsewhere in the region, Indian billionaires’ wealth increased by 42.1% to $906 billion, while their number grew from 153 to 185. Growth in billionaire wealth in Asia/Pacific overall flattened, increasing by 1.8% to $3.8 trillion, while the number of billionaires fell from 1,019 to 981.
Western Europe’s total billionaire wealth rose by 16% to $2.7 trillion, in part because of a 24% increase in the number of Swiss billionaires. The billionaire population in the region climbed from 456 to 495.
Aggregate wealth of billionaires in the United Arab Emirates grew by 39.5% to $139 billion, and the number of billionaires to 18.
The year’s new billionaires were mainly self-made, according to UBS. First-time billionaires numbered 268, 60% of them entrepreneurs. That reverses the position in the 2023 report when most new billionaires were multigenerational billionaires inheriting money.
As the great wealth transition gains momentum, however, the proportion of multigenerational billionaires is forecasted to increase, UBS said.
See the accompanying gallery for eight trends among the world’s billionaire population over the past decade.
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