The world has entered a new chapter in global wealth, and it is being defined by a record number of billionaires. New research from Swiss banking giant UBS and other assessments from wealth-tracking organizations show an acceleration of billionaire creation that is reshaping the global economy, the balance of financial power, and even the debate over taxation and inequality.
A Record Number of Billionaires
In 2025, the global billionaire population climbed to 2,900, up from about 2,700 the previous year. Together, they now control $15.8 trillion, compared with nearly $14 trillion a year earlier. UBS notes that this rise includes 287 new billionaires, the second-highest number ever recorded since the bank began tracking this figure in 2015.
Altrata, another wealth intelligence firm, found similar results. It estimated that 3,508 individuals held $13.4 trillion in total wealth, with about a third of them living in the United States. China came in second with 321 billionaires.
The Wall Street Journal also highlights the sharp jump in billionaire wealth this year, particularly due to soaring tech valuations, strong stock performance, and the momentum of artificial intelligence.
Why Billionaire Wealth Is Surging
Tech stocks have played a major role. The Magnificent Seven, a leading group of American technology companies, posted combined share price gains of 25 percent this year. As a result, six major U.S. tech billionaires saw their wealth grow by $171 billion. The strong influence of artificial intelligence, especially in companies like Nvidia, Oracle, Meta, and Alphabet, caused dramatic increases in the net worth of some of the world’s most recognizable tech founders.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and other leaders in AI-driven innovation are among those whose fortunes grew the fastest. UBS notes that Asian tech billionaires also saw major gains.
The trend, however, is not limited to technology. Seventy percent of the new billionaires this year are self-made and represent a wide range of industries. They include bioscience founder Ben Lamm of Colossal Biosciences, entrepreneur Michael Dorrell of Stonepeak Partners, and the Chinese brothers behind Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.
The Rise of Inherited Wealth
Although entrepreneurs continue to create new fortunes, UBS emphasizes that inheritance has become an increasingly powerful force. Of the new billionaires this year, 91 inherited their wealth, receiving a combined $298 billion. This is up more than a third from last year and is the highest amount since UBS began tracking these trends.
John Mathews, UBS’s head of private-wealth management in the United States, said the world is witnessing the early stages of a long-predicted shift. “We’ve been talking about the great wealth transfer now for over a decade now, and you’re starting to see it come to fruition,” he said. “I’d say we’re in the second inning of a nine-inning baseball game.”
Much of this wealth first transfers to surviving spouses, often wives, before passing to the next generation. Examples of the trend include the six grandchildren of the late Singapore paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, each inheriting more than a billion dollars in company shares.
UBS projects that at least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire heirs over the next 15 years. The largest transfers are expected in the United States, followed by India, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
Oxfam’s inequality report matches this pattern, finding that 36 percent of billionaire wealth is now inherited. It also estimates that baby boomer billionaire heirs will receive $6.3 trillion in the near future.
How Global Tax Policy Is Responding
Some governments are pushing for higher taxes on extreme wealth. Spain, Brazil, Germany, and South Africa have signed on to a G20 proposal for a minimum 2 percent tax on the super-rich. French economist Gabriel Zucman argues that such a tax could generate up to $250 billion in new public revenue.
Other countries are resisting these measures. Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a 50 percent tax on inherited fortunes worth more than £47 million. France voted down a proposed tax on fortunes over 100 million euros. Italy, which has attracted many wealthy residents with favorable tax rules, plans to increase certain levies but still maintains special treatment for high-income newcomers.
In the United Kingdom, the government ended non-dom tax status and introduced a council tax surcharge on homes worth more than 2 million pounds.
Wealthy individuals themselves are entering the debate. After the Oxfam report, more than 370 millionaires and billionaires signed an open letter calling on world leaders to “tackle the corrosive impact of extreme wealth” and urging lawmakers to “start with the simplest solution: tax us, the super rich.”
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the strongest engines of modern wealth creation. UBS states that AI has fueled huge stock gains in companies associated with the technology. As a result, AI has already created new billionaires and expanded the fortunes of existing ones.
The explosive growth of AI companies last year helped push billionaire wealth up 13 percent in a single year. For many tech billionaires, AI is not just a business tool but a force that amplifies their financial power. Even outside the tech sector, AI is indirectly boosting wealth by lifting markets and increasing valuations across a range of industries.
People are starting to ask broader questions about how AI will shape wealth inequality. Some analysts worry that AI could concentrate wealth even more sharply among those who own the companies that design or deploy advanced systems. Others argue that AI has the potential to create new industries and opportunities that could offset this effect.
Human-rights and inequality advocates warn that the rise of billionaire wealth is outpacing public gains. Jenny Ricks of the Fight Inequality Alliance said, “We’ve reached a new era now, we are in the era of the billionaire.” She argues that governments need to invest more in public services such as education and healthcare to counteract growing inequality.
Amitabh Behar of Oxfam International said billionaire wealth accumulation has accelerated “by three times” and added that both wealth and influence are rising at once.
At the same time, UBS’s interviews with billionaires reveal their own concerns. U.S. billionaires cite inflation and geopolitics as their biggest risks. Asian billionaires are most worried about tariffs and trade tensions. Billionaires have also become less optimistic about short-term investments in North America, with interest shifting toward Europe and Asia.
Whether the world views these trends with admiration, concern, or a mix of both, one thing is clear. Billionaires are increasing in number, expanding in wealth, diversifying across industries, and passing unprecedented fortunes to the next generation. The rise of artificial intelligence and ongoing global wealth transfers suggest that the era of extraordinary concentration of economic power is far from over.
FAM Editor: The conclusions of this trend are foggy in the extreme, are we all going to be supported by AI? Will one billionaire eventually control the world? In future articles, we will examine some of the trends and evaluated the possibilities – perhaps AI can help with that…
