New York Wall Street sign with American flag and Christmas tree lights in the background.
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Rising stock markets, a resurgence in merger activity and inheritance flows have created 287 new billionaires this year, bringing the number of billionaires worldwide to more than 2,900, according to a new report.
Billionaire wealth rose 13% to a record $15.8 trillion at the end of the third quarter, according to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025. According to the report, of the world’s 2,919 billionaires, 2,059 were self-made and 860 inherited their wealth.
This year marks the second-highest number of new billionaires recorded in UBS research, after 2021, when 360 new billionaires were created. In the past four years, 727 people have become billionaires, increasing the global total by 27%.
Artificial intelligence and high-tech billionaires may dominate the wealth headlines, but the new billionaires of 2025 made their fortunes in a more diverse range of industries, from software and genetics to restaurants, infrastructure and natural gas.
The new group includes Ben Lamm, co-founder of genetics and biosciences company Colossal; Michael Dorrell, co-founder and CEO of infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak. Bob Pender and Mike Sabel are co-founders of Venture Global, a liquid natural gas export company that went public in January.
“There’s a lot of room for new self-made entrepreneurs to build wealth,” said Judy Sparsoff, head of UBS’s Family Office Solutions Group.
According to UBS, the United States led the rise in global billionaires, with 92 new self-made billionaires having a wealth of $180 billion. Almost a third of the world’s billionaires, or 924 people, live in the United States, and their total wealth has increased 18% in the past year to $17.5 trillion. According to the report, three-quarters of America’s billionaires are self-made.
The huge transfer of wealth is also creating new billionaires through inheritance. According to UBS, in the past year, 91 people have become billionaires through inheritance, amassing nearly $300 billion in wealth. Of the heirs, 64 were men and 27 were women. Over the next 15 years, the report estimates that $5.9 trillion will be inherited by children and spouses, primarily from American billionaires.
But attitudes about increasing wealth for the next generation are changing, especially among family-owned businesses. Rather than expecting to take over the family business, today’s billionaires hire professional managers or sell the company so their children can become more independent and find their own careers.
“Decades ago, family business succession was common because markets were slow to change and continuity provided stability,” one anonymous European billionaire told UBS for the report. “Today, priorities are changing due to globalization, accelerating cycles of disruption, and increasing risks that established companies cannot withstand in their current form. As professional management has become more common, families have come to see more value in helping their children become resilient, educated, and adaptable than in inheriting roles.”
When it comes to investing, billionaires remain bullish on stocks, especially in the U.S. Despite signs of market overheating and increasing concentration in a small number of AI-driven tech stocks, UBS reports that 43% of billionaires plan to increase their public holdings in the next 12 months. Only 5% plan to reduce their holdings.
Private equity is in a mixed bag. According to UBS, half plan to add direct investments in the next year and 37% plan to add to private equity funds. At the same time, 28% plan to reduce their investment in private equity funds, likely due to lower returns and lack of exits. Most plan to maintain cash holdings, and a third plan to increase real estate holdings.
Billionaires’ confidence in America as an investment destination has declined over the past year. The percentage of those surveyed who believe there are investment opportunities in the United States has fallen from 80% to 64%. Billionaires, on the other hand, were more optimistic about Europe, with a higher proportion of respondents saying investment opportunities in Europe would rise from 18% to 40%. For China, the same share rose from 11% to 34%.
“If you look at the market volatility, policy uncertainty and high valuations this year, we’ve consistently seen these billionaire families looking to diversify into higher value deals,” said Daniel Scansaroli, head of portfolio strategy at UBS’s chief investment office. “They still have a strong bias against American exceptionalism. It’s just lost a lot of its luster in the process.”
Billionaires aren’t just moving their money around the world, they’re also moving their homes around the world. According to UBS, more than a third (36%) of billionaires have moved, and a quarter of them have moved more than once. A further 9% said they were considering relocating.
According to the report, the main reason they move to other countries is to “improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.” Spalthoff said that could include better weather, better health care and closer proximity to children and families. They also mention geopolitical concerns and tax organizations.
Overall, Spalthoff said he expects the population and wealth of billionaires to continue to grow next year.
“We see wealth continuing to accelerate,” she said. “With the rapid growth of technology and industry, especially in the United States, the growth in billionaire wealth shows no signs of slowing down.”
