Wealth of Billionaires Surges

ZURICH (Reuters) – The wealth held by the world's billionaires jumped by about 17% over the past year, as significant gains among the super rich in the United States more than offset a decline in China, Swiss bank UBS said on Thursday.

The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report for 2024 indicates:
– The number of billionaires rose to 2,682 from 2,544 a year earlier.
– Their total wealth increased to $14 trillion from $12 trillion. In 2015, their wealth was $6.3 trillion.

With the world's population at just over 8 billion and a GDP of around $105.4 trillion, this highlights the concentration of wealth among a small elite.

Most new billionaires this year were self-made, contrasted with the previous report where new billionaires gained wealth largely through inheritance.

The report, based on a survey conducted from June to September, showed that geopolitical conflict and inflation were the primary concerns for the billionaires surveyed. North America was perceived as offering the best investment returns over the next year.

In the United States, the number of billionaires grew to 835 from 751, with their collective wealth increasing to $5.8 trillion from $4.6 trillion. This growth was driven mainly by industrial and tech magnates.

Conversely, in mainland China, the number of billionaires fell to 427 from 520, and their wealth decreased to $1.4 trillion from $1.8 trillion. This decline is attributed to losses in real estate and declining firm values amid an uncertain economic outlook.

India saw its billionaire count rise over a fifth to 185, with a wealth increase of more than 40% to nearly $906 billion.

In Western Europe, Switzerland surpassed Britain to become the second-highest billionaire-count country after Germany, increasing its total by 10 to 85. Other countries like France (+12 to 46), Germany (+8 to 117), Italy (+6 to 62), and Spain (+3 to 27) also gained billionaires, while the UK's total dropped by one to 82. France's billionaires had the highest combined wealth among Europeans.