The number of billionaires globally has jumped by 13% to a record 3,302 people, according to new data from Swiss bank UBS, as the super-rich accumulate wealth at an accelerating pace. Billionaires' wealth grew by 25% on average in the year ended in April, compared with a 10.8% rise in average personal wealth worldwide.
AI Boom Fuels Billionaire Wealth
James Mazeau, an economist at UBS, attributed the surge to the AI boom in stock markets. “Most [billionaire] wealth is tied to listed companies,” he said. “So part of the rise is due to equity markets. The AI boom story is fuelling equity markets. In countries where there is a lot of participation and equity market, this is leading to an increase in wealth.”
There were 18 people who had amassed wealth between $50bn (£37.8bn) and $100bn, with a further 19 people worth more than $100bn. Of these, 15 were based in the US. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, remains the world's richest person with a net worth of $1tn, according to Forbes. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google's co-founders, rank second and third with $289bn and $266.6bn, respectively.
Millionaire Population Also Expands
The millionaire class has also grown rapidly, with UBS finding the global millionaire population reached more than 57.5 million last year. This was helped by rising stock markets and a relatively weak US dollar. The US accounted for nearly half of the growth, with over 440,000 new millionaires in 2025. In the UK, more than 43,000 people became millionaires last year.
The gap between the world's richest and poorest continues to widen. The World Inequality Report last year found that fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world's population – control three times as much wealth as the bottom half of humanity. Growing calls have emerged for political leaders to increase taxes on the super-rich amid concerns that wealth is translating into political power.
UK Billionaire Numbers Fall
The Sunday Times rich list reported 156 UK-based billionaires in 2025, down from 165 the previous year – the biggest fall in the list's 37-year history. The Hinduja family topped the UK list with a net worth of £35bn. Reports of the super-rich fleeing Britain have proliferated, with many wealth advisers citing the abolition of the non-dom tax regime.
However, Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS, cautioned against exaggerating the trend. “It is a relatively low number overall, and some of them subsequently went back,” he said. “But what you’re not seeing is them shutting their businesses and moving their businesses. The economic activity that is generated by the wealth holders tends not to follow them into tax exile. This idea that the wealthy have suitcases packed by the door ready to go at the first sign of tax increase, this is just not happening.”
