Billionaires are on the rise, so are inequality levels the world over

  • From Xhulia Likaj
  • Reading duration 2 min

The recently published 10th edition of the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2024 reveals a striking surge in billionaire wealth over the past decade, while raising questions about income disparities worldwide.

Global billionaire wealth grew by a staggering 121%, reaching USD 14.0 trillion in 2024, compared to USD 6.3 trillion in 2015. The number of billionaires rose by over 50%, from 1,757 to 2,682. Notably, tech billionaires' wealth tripled, driven by growth in generative AI, cybersecurity, and robotics, reaching USD 2.4 trillion. The industrial sector also saw major gains, increasing from USD 480 billion to USD 1.3 trillion.

While North America led sustained wealth growth, rising to USD 6.1 trillion in 2024, India experienced an impressive threefold increase, reaching USD 905.6 billion. Conversely, China’s billionaire fortunes contracted after 2020 mainly as a consequence of regulatory changes and campaigns promoting common prosperity.

But if the number of billionaires and their wealth is surging, so are inequality levels around the world. A recent update from the World Inequality Lab - which continues to track income disparities across 216 countries - confirms that inequality divides are growing:

  • Europe remains the least unequal region, with the top 10% earning 36% of national income. However, inequality has risen in countries like the UK, where the bottom 50% earn under 20%.
  • In the United States, pre-tax inequality reached a post-WWII peak in 2023, with the top 10% earning 47% of national income. Similar trends persist in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the richest 10% capture over 55% of national income.
  • Asia, the most populous region, exhibits highly diverse inequality regimes, with India seeing its top 10% controlling 58% of income by 2023.

Check out the World Inequality Database for a more detailed overview.