New members of the global super-rich gained more of their assets through inheritance than through wealth creation this year — the first time that this has been recorded by Swiss bank UBS in its nine years of surveying global billionaires.
A total of $141bn was amassed by 84 self-made billionaires around the world in 2023, while $151bn was passed on to 53 heirs, the bank’s research found.
“The heirs to billionaires are gaining prominence,” said Benjamin Cavalli, UBS’s head of global wealth management strategic clients. “New billionaires minted during this year’s study period accumulated more wealth through inheritance than entrepreneurship. That’s a theme we expect to see more of over the next 20 to 30 years, as more than 1,000 billionaires pass an estimated $5.2tn to their children.”