The spouses and children of billionaires will inherit more wealth in 2025 than in any previous year since reporting began in 2015, according to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report, published on Thursday (4).
In the 12 months to April, 91 people became billionaires by inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion (R$1.59 trillion), an increase of more than a third compared to 2024, the Swiss bank said.
“These heirs are evidence of a multi-year wealth transfer that has intensified,” said Benjamin Cavalli, a UBS executive.
The report is based on a survey of some of UBS’s ultra-rich clients and a database that tracks the fortunes of billionaires in 47 markets in all regions of the world.
Bank calculations indicate that the children of billionaires will inherit at least $5.9 trillion over the next fifteen years.
Most of the growth in this inheritance is expected to occur in the United States, followed by India, France, Germany and Switzerland on the list, according to UBS estimates.
He added that billionaires are very mobile, especially young people, which could change this situation.
According to the report, the search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years, according to the bank, voters overwhelmingly rejected on Sunday a proposed 50% tax on inherited wealth of $62 million or more, after critics said it could lead to a mass exodus of the wealthy.
Cavalli commented that Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Singapore are among the favorite destinations of billionaires. “In Switzerland, Sunday’s vote may have helped boost the country’s attractiveness again,” he said.