Advice opportunity as billionaires rise in Australia

The Asia-Pacific region has experienced the highest growth rate of billionaires over the last decade, as Australian advisers shift their offerings to meet this expansion.

The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2024 tracks the wealth of over 2,500 billionaires across the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

It revealed that over the past decade, total billionaire wealth increased by 121 per cent globally from US$6.3 trillion to US$14 trillion. Overall, the number of billionaires across the globe has grown by 52.6 per cent from 1,757 to 2,682 over the past 10 years.

UBS highlighted that APAC has experienced the relative highest growth rate of ultra wealthy individuals at 69 per cent during the 10-year period. The region is home to the largest number of billionaires globally at 981, representing nearly 40 per cent of the world’s total billionaire population.

The report also noted that Australia has exhibited a consistent growth in the number of its own billionaires.

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Locally, the number of billionaires increased from 41 in 2023 to 43 in 2024, marking a rise of 4.9 per cent. There was a 16.3 per cent rise in Australian billionaire wealth from US$173.5 billion last year to $201.8 billion this year.

Moreover, UBS revealed that the proportion of self-made Australian billionaires this year stands at 76.7 per cent. Internationally, the report noted that this year’s new billionaires were mainly self-made, with 60 per cent of the 268 first-time billionaires in 2024 being entrepreneurs.

“That reverses the position in last year’s report when most new billionaires were multigenerational billionaires inheriting money. As the great wealth transition gains momentum, though, we expect the proportion of multigenerational billionaires to increase,” it stated.

Last year’s edition of the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report discovered that a total of US$150.8 billion was inherited globally by 53 heirs in 2023, compared to US$140.7 billion which was self-made. This was the first year that the growth in accumulated wealth was driven by inheritance rather than entrepreneurship.

Commenting on the report, Michael Marr, Australian head of UBS Global Wealth Management, said: “Consistent with years past, the 10th edition of this report shows continued growth in the number of billionaires in Australia, reflective of the wider APAC trend.

“Within this, a trend we’re watching closely is the rapidly growing number of female billionaires, at almost double the rate of increase in male billionaires in the past decade.”

From 2015 to 2024, the number of female billionaires globally has increased from 190 to 344 – a rise of 81 per cent. This compares to a growth of 49 per cent in the male population, which remains far larger at 2,338 billionaires in 2024, the report wrote.

Marr continued: “For us in Australia, this means that over the next few years, our coverage will reflect the needs of this client segment through a team that will deliver solutions such as sustainable investing with purpose and investing to make an impact.”

Earlier this year, UBS discovered that the proportion of millionaires to the Australian adult population was 10 per cent, which is set to grow by over 20 per cent by 2028.

With the number of high-net-worth individuals also increasing by nearly 9 per cent from 2023, this cohort has become a key focus for Australian financial advisers to provide specialist advice.