In a recent report by financial information company Altrata, it is estimated that in the next decade, a total of $66 trillion of billionaire wealth will be transferred to nearly 5,000 spouses and adult children globally, with 90% of the inheritors being female.
The 13th edition of the “Billionaire Census 2026” report released by Altrata on August 27 revealed that over the next ten years, around 5,000 spouses and adult children of billionaires are expected to inherit a combined $66 trillion of family wealth. Among the inheritors, over 1,235 are female spouses, accounting for 90%. The report also indicated that the average age of adult children expected to inherit wealth is currently 48 years old, while the average age of inheriting spouses is 66 years old. Additionally, 23% of the anticipated adult children inheritors are currently employed in the family’s core businesses.
Breaking down by region, North American billionaires are projected to transfer $33 trillion in wealth over the next decade, accounting for nearly half of the global share, while Europe is expected to transfer $16 trillion and Asia $10 trillion.
The report also highlighted that in 2025, the global number of billionaires reached 3,795, experiencing an 8.2% annual increase, the largest growth in the past five years and a cumulative growth of nearly 60% over a decade. Their total wealth grew by 12.8% to $15.1 trillion, equivalent to almost a quarter of the total market value of the S&P 500 index.
Altrata attributes this wave of wealth growth to the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. The report analyzed the top 150 publicly listed companies globally contributing the most to billionaire wealth and found that those who invested over $30 million in AI in the past five years had a 23% faster market value growth from 2024 to 2025 compared to those who did not meet the threshold. The report also noted that in 2025, 29 individuals classified as “super-billionaires” with assets exceeding $50 billion collectively held $4.1 trillion, accounting for 27% of total billionaire wealth (precise data in the chart is 27.2%), a significant increase from 10 individuals in 2017, representing 7.2%.
Maya Imberg, the analytical director at Altrata, stated on CNBC’s “Inside Wealth” on September 4 that wealth concentration among tech industry billionaires is expected to fluctuate with AI-related developments.
Another report released by UBS on June 30 this year unrelated to the Altrata report, titled “Global Wealth Report 2026,” revealed that in 2025, global personal wealth (encompassing individuals with assets exceeding one million dollars, not just billionaires) grew by 10.8%, the fastest rate in nearly three years. However, during the same period, the median wealth in many surveyed countries either remained stagnant or experienced a decline. It’s worth noting that the two reports have different publishers, timelines, and target populations, making direct comparisons inappropriate.