The fortunes of billionaires increased by 17% in 2024. So did their number.
Wealth held by billionaires has increased by about 17% over the past year, Swiss bank UBS said Thursday (December 5, 2024), noting that gains by the super rich in the United States more than offset the decline in China.
From 2,544 in 2023 to 2,682 billionaires in 2024
The 'UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report for 2024' indicates that the total number of billionaires increased from 2,544 in 2023 to 2,682 in 2024, and that their wealth increased from 12,000 to 14,000 billion dollars (from 11,400 to 13,300 billion euros).
There were 1,757 billionaires in 2015, according to the report, with a total fortune of $6.3 trillion.
According to the World Bank, the world's population was just over 8 billion last year and global gross domestic product (GDP) was around $105.4 trillion, underscoring the distribution of wealth in the hands of a tiny part of humanity.
If most of the new billionaires of the year are 'self-made men', the bank's report in 2023 showed that the new billionaires acquire more wealth through inheritance than through business.
The 2024 report, based on a survey of billionaires conducted between June and September and data on the wealth of the super rich, shows that the risk of geopolitical conflicts and inflation are their main concerns.
The survey also shows that North America was overwhelmingly seen as offering the best investment returns for 2025.
-Increase in the United States, decrease in China
In the United States, the number of billionaires increased from 751 to 835, led by industry and technology tycoons, whose total wealth increased from $4.6 billion to $5.8 billion.
In China, the number of billionaires fell from 520 to 427 and their wealth decreased from $1.8 trillion to $1.4 trillion. In 2021, mainland China had 626 billionaires, whose total wealth exceeded $2.5 trillion, according to previous UBS figures.
Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS global wealth management, said the decline reflected losses in property markets and the falling value of companies owned by some of China's billionaires amid an uncertain economic outlook.
In India, the number of billionaires increased by more than a fifth in the past year, to 185, and their wealth grew by more than 40 percent, to nearly $906 billion, according to UBS .
In Europe, Germany has the most billionaires
In Western Europe, Switzerland overtook Britain, which saw its number of billionaires decline, to become the second country with the most billionaires after Germany, increasing its total by 10 to 85 billionaires.
In France, the number of billionaires increased by 12 to a total of 46, possessing the highest cumulative wealth in Europe.
