Swiss bank UBS announced on Thursday (December 5th) that the wealth of global billionaires has grown by approximately 17% over the past year. While the fortunes of China’s super-rich have shrunk, the wealth of American billionaires has seen a significant increase.
According to the “UBS Billionaires Report 2024,” the total number of billionaires has risen from 2,544 a year ago to 2,682, with their total wealth increasing from $12 trillion to $14 trillion. In contrast, in 2015, their total wealth was $6.3 trillion.
Most of this year’s new billionaires are self-made individuals. The UBS report from 2023 indicated that the wealth of new billionaires mainly comes from inheritance rather than entrepreneurship.
The latest report is based on research conducted on billionaires from June to September and data on super-rich individuals.
In the United States, the number of billionaires has jumped from 751 to 835, primarily led by industrial and tech giants, with their total wealth increasing from $4.6 trillion to $5.8 trillion.
Meanwhile, the number of billionaires in mainland China has decreased from 520 to 427, and their wealth has shrunk from $1.8 trillion to $1.4 trillion. According to previous UBS data, in 2021, mainland China had 626 billionaires with a total value exceeding $2.5 trillion.
According to a report by Reuters, Benjamin Cavalli, Head of Strategic Clients at UBS Global Wealth Management, stated that this decline reflects losses in the real estate market and the decrease in the value of companies owned by some of the wealthiest individuals in China amid uncertain economic prospects.
UBS also reported that in India, the number of billionaires increased by over one-fifth last year to reach 185 individuals, with their wealth growing by over 40% to nearly $906 billion.
In Western Europe, Switzerland surpassed the UK to become the second country with the highest number of billionaires, following Germany, with an increase of 10 billionaires to a total of 85 individuals.
France has 46 billionaires (+12), Germany has 117 (+8), Italy has 62 (+6), and Spain has 27 (+3), while the UK saw a decrease of 1 billionaire to 82. UBS noted that the total wealth of French billionaires is the highest among Europeans.
The survey also indicated that geopolitical conflicts and inflation risks are the primary concerns of billionaires, with North America being widely seen as the region that will offer the best investment returns in the upcoming year.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on November 6, following the return of Trump to the White House, the stock market surged, leading to a new high in the fortunes of the top ten richest individuals globally.
Specifically, Tesla CEO Elon Musk led the way as billionaires’ net assets soared by $63.5 billion, marking the largest single-day increase since Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index began in 2012. Musk himself saw his wealth increase by $26.5 billion, reaching $290 billion.
According to a report from Informa Connect Academy, based on the average annual growth rate of wealth, Musk is expected to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027.