Billionaires, wealth more than doubled in the last 10 years
Americans are the ones who have accumulated the most wealth, Chinese fall - The number of the super-rich also grows in Italy, at 62
2' min read
2' min read
The wealth of the world's billionaires has more than doubled in the last ten years, with wealth increasing by 121% from USD 6,300 billion to USD 14 trillion. The number of billionaires has also risen to 2,682, 10 years ago there were 1,757. In Italy, in particular, the super-rich have risen to 62 (six more). Putting the numbers in line is the UBS Billionaire ambitions report, a study that analyses the wealth of over 2,500 billionaires in the Americas, Emea and APAC (Asia Pacific).
US billionaires amassed the most wealth in 2024, reinforcing the country's role as a centre for billionaire entrepreneurs worldwide and offsetting China's decline. The wealth of tech billionaires rose the fastest, followed by that of industrial billionaires. That of billionaires, analysts point out, is a hectic life: they move more frequently, as many as 176 have changed residence since 2020.
In the US, the number of billionaires jumped from 751 to 835, led by industry and technology tycoons, with their total wealth rising to $5.8 trillion from $4.6 trillion. In China, the number of billionaires fell from 520 to 427, and their wealth from $1.8 trillion to $1.4 trillion. In 2021, according to previous Ubs data, there were 626, with a total value of more than $2.5 trillion. "The decline," the report explains, "reflects losses in real estate markets and a drop in the value of companies owned by some of China's richest people amid a less certain economic backdrop.
In the past year, the number of Indian billionaires increased by more than a fifth to 185 and their wealth by more than 40 per cent to nearly $906 billion, Ubs said. In Europe, Switzerland overtook Britain to become the country with the second highest number of billionaires after Germany, increasing its total from 10 to 85. France with 46 (+12), Germany with 117 (+8), Italy with 62 (+6) and Spain with 27 (+3) all gained billionaires while the British total fell by one to 82. The total wealth of French billionaires was the highest among Europeans.
The heirs of baby-boom era billionaires and philanthropic initiatives are set to receive an estimated $6.3 trillion over the next 15 years, a higher estimate than in 2023. Multi-generational billionaires have inherited $1.3 trillion over the past 10 years, although this figure excludes heirs who inherited fortunes but did not become billionaires.
