The number of billionaires worldwide has surged to an unprecedented level in 2025, driven by soaring technology company valuations and robust stock market performance. This is the key finding from the latest annual study by Swiss banking giant UBS, which highlights a significant acceleration in the creation and concentration of extreme wealth.
Record Numbers and Soaring Wealth
According to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025, the global billionaire population reached 2,900 individuals this year. Collectively, this elite group now commands a staggering $15.8 trillion in wealth. This marks a substantial increase from the approximately 2,700 billionaires holding nearly $14 trillion just a year earlier.
The past year witnessed the creation of 287 new billionaires, representing the second-highest annual increase since UBS began tracking this data in 2015. The only year that surpassed this was 2021, a period characterized by massive government stimulus and low interest rates that inflated asset prices globally.
Sources of New Billionaire Wealth
John Mathews, UBS’s head of private-wealth management in the U.S., noted that the growth is broad-based. "You’ve seen this acceleration of billionaire growth, and it’s actually coming from all areas," he stated, pointing to both entrepreneurship and inheritance as key drivers.
The new, self-made billionaires of 2025 emerged from diverse sectors. Notable examples cited in the report include:
- Ben Lamm, founder of de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences.
- Michael Dorrell, co-founder of infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak Partners.
- The Zhang brothers behind the Chinese beverage chain Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.
- Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.
Simultaneously, the long-anticipated "great wealth transfer" is gaining momentum. In 2025, 91 individuals became billionaires through inheritance, including 15 members from two prominent German pharmaceutical families. Mathews likened this ongoing transfer to being "in the second inning of a nine-inning baseball game," predicting much of the wealth will first pass to surviving spouses before reaching the next generation.
Regional Shifts and Billionaire Concerns
The UBS report, which also includes insights from 87 billionaire clients, reveals shifting perceptions about global investment. The appeal of North America as the premier short-term investment destination has fallen to 63% from 81% a year ago. Interest has instead grown in Western Europe, Greater China, and the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Greater China).
Geopolitical and economic concerns also vary by region. While Asian billionaires cited tariffs as their top worry for the coming year, their counterparts in the United States were more concerned about inflation and broader geopolitical tensions.
These findings are corroborated by separate analysis from wealth-intelligence firm Altrata, which also recorded a rise in global billionaires to record levels. Altrata estimated 3,508 billionaires holding $13.4 trillion, with about a third residing in the U.S. and China placing second with 321 billionaires controlling roughly 10% of the world's billionaire wealth.
The overall wealth gains documented in the UBS study were bolstered by a generally rising stock market in the 12 months leading up to April 4, 2025, despite a temporary downturn triggered by former President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement.
