Overview
- UBS counts 2,919 billionaires worldwide in 2025, with total wealth up 13% year over year to $15.8 trillion.
- Technology fortunes rose 23.8% to $3.0 trillion and industrial wealth grew 27.1%, reflecting AI-driven valuations and gains in automation, robotics and healthcare.
- Ninety-one new billionaires emerged through inheritances worth $298 billion, with UBS projecting at least $5.9 trillion to pass to heirs over the next 15 years.
- The U.S. remains dominant with 924 billionaires, while Germany leads Europe with 156 residents after a sharp annual increase.
- Mobility has accelerated since COVID: 36% have relocated at least once, top destinations include Switzerland, the UAE, the U.S., Singapore, Monaco and Italy, and Swiss voters recently rejected a steep inheritance tax proposal.