Billionaires set records thanks to technology businesses and inherited fortunes

BarcelonaSpain has gained eight new billionaires in the last year, bringing the total number of people with this level of wealth in the country to 32. These newcomers, along with a fashion entrepreneur—specifically Amancio Ortega, the main shareholder of Inditex—have driven an increase in billionaire wealth in Spain to $213.1 billion (€182.5 billion at the current exchange rate), representing 5% of the 2025 billionaire ambitions of the Swiss bank UBS. In Catalonia, the wealthiest individual is Sol Daurella, from the family that controls Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), who succeeded Mango founder Isak Andic, who died tragically.

Spain's new billionaires added $11.6 billion to their wealth, while three fell below the $1 billion threshold and thus dropped out of the club. Amancio Ortega stands out due to his significant share of the total, with his wealth increasing by $21 billion, bringing his total net worth to $124 billion, "58.2% of Spain's total billionaire wealth," according to the study. The founder of Zara remains among the world's wealthiest elite.

The report states that of all Spanish billionaires, only 34% are the creators or founders of their businesses, meaning that the remaining 70% are descendants and heirs. According to the study's authors, Spain, along with France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, is one of the countries where the most wealth has been transferred from one generation to the next, and where this process will continue. The study estimates that in the next 15 years, a total of $162.1 billion (€138 billion at the current exchange rate) will be transferred from one generation to the next.

Currently, "wealth transfer is also accelerating" worldwide. This year, a total of 91 heirs across the globe (64 men and 27 women) inherited a record $297.8 billion. This represents a 36% increase compared to 2014, "although, overall, fewer people have inherited." There are fewer of them, but they receive more. Globally, the number of multigenerational billionaires grew, with an additional 850 and total assets of $4.7 trillion, compared to 805 a year earlier and $4.2 trillion. And this trend is becoming more established across generations. The number of second-generation billionaires increased by 4.6%; third-generation billionaires by 12.3%; and fourth-generation and beyond by 10%. Another factor is women's wealth, which continued to increase by 8.4%, reaching $5.2 billion, double the rate of increase for men. However, there are 374 female billionaires worldwide compared to 2,545 male billionaires.

Globally, the number of billionaires this year has nearly reached 3,000, an 8.8% increase over last year. A total of 196 of these individuals added $386.5 billion to global wealth, bringing the total to a record $15.8 trillion. "This is the second-largest increase ever recorded in the history of this report," which is now in its 11th edition. This growth was driven by the creation of new businesses and the success of initiatives ranging from... software for marketing and genetics to liquefied natural gas and infrastructure, especially in the United States and the Asia-Pacific region.

"The multimillionaire community is more diverse, mobile, and forward-thinking than ever before. The combination of entrepreneurial drive and the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history is creating new opportunities and challenges for families and wealth managers," according to Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients and global connectivity at UBS Wealth Management.

The biggest boost came from billionaires in the tech sector, whose wealth increased by 23.8%. This is why Forbes magazine's rankings feature figures ranging from Elon Musk (Tesla, X, etc.) to Larry Ellison (Oracle) and Mark Zuckerberg (Meta). In the retail and consumer goods sector, the increase was 5.3%, "as the European luxury industry lost momentum to Chinese brands," according to the study's authors. However, it remains the largest sector of all, totaling $3.1 trillion. One of its leading figures, Bernard Arnault, owner of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), is among the world's richest people.

Industrial wealth also increased by 27.1% to $1.7 trillion, with more than a quarter of that coming from new billionaires. And in the financial services sector, the increase was 17%, reaching $2.3 trillion, thanks to market momentum and the surge in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In this sector, self-made billionaires make up 80% of the total.