The Wealth of the Global Billionaire Wealth increased by around 17% over the last year, mainly due to big gains among the very rich in the United States, which outweighed a decrease in China, according to Swiss bank UBS.
On Thursday, UBS released its Billionaire Ambitions Report for 2024, which showed that the number of billionaires grew from 2,544 to 2,682, and their total wealth increased from $12 trillion to $14 trillion. In 2015, their combined wealth was $6.3 trillion.
The World Bank reports that the global population was just over 8 billion last year, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $105.4 trillion. This highlights how much wealth is held by a very small group of people.
Most of the new billionaires this year made their own fortunes. In contrast, last year’s report showed that more new billionaires inherited their wealth rather than earning it through their own efforts.
The recent report, which includes a survey of billionaires from June to September and data on the wealth of the very rich, found that they are most concerned about geopolitical conflicts and inflation.
Regional Shifts and Investment Outlook
The survey also revealed that North America is widely considered to offer the best investment opportunities in the coming year.
United States, the number of billionaires increased from 751 to 835, mainly due to industrial and tech leaders, with their combined wealth rising from $4.6 trillion to $5.8 trillion.
In mainland China, the number of billionaires decreased from 520 to 427, and their total wealth fell from $1.8 trillion to $1.4 trillion. In 2021, there were 626 billionaires in mainland China, with a combined wealth of over $2.5 trillion, according to earlier data from UBS.
Benjamin Cavalli, who leads the strategic clients division at UBS’s global wealth management, explained that the decrease was due to losses in real estate markets and a decline in the value of companies owned by some of China’s richest people, influenced by an uncertain economic future.
UBS reported that India saw a rise in its billionaire count over the past year, increasing by more than 20% to 185 individuals, with their combined wealth growing by over 40% to nearly $906 billion.
In Western Europe, Switzerland surpassed the UK to become the country with the second-highest number of billionaires. After Germany, added 10 more billionaires to reach a total of 85.
France, Germany, Italy, and Spain all saw an increase in their billionaire counts, with France adding 12 to reach 46, Germany adding 8 to reach 117, Italy adding 6 to reach 62, and Spain adding 3 to reach 27. Meanwhile, the UK’s billionaire count decreased by one to 82, according to UBS. The combined wealth of France’s billionaires was the highest among European countries.
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