Global personal wealth at the very top has hit a new record. Citing data from financial analytics firm Altrata, the Wall Street Journal reported that total wealth owned by the world’s billionaires rose 10.3% to US$13.4 trillion in 2024, the highest level on record.
The report said the jump was driven by strong equity markets and an explosive rally in technology and artificial intelligence, which together have reshaped global wealth distribution in a rapid but uneven way.
There are now 3,508 billionaires worldwide. The United States remains the dominant hub, with 1,135 billionaires holding a combined US$5.7 trillion, about 43% of total billionaire wealth.
China ranks second with 321 billionaires worth about US$1.3 trillion, or roughly 10% of the global total. Europe, meanwhile, passed the 1,000-billionaire mark for the first time since data was compiled.
According to the report, the AI and tech boom has allowed America’s richest, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos — to more than double their fortunes, buoyed by stock market gains.
Between 2015 and 2025, tech saw the fastest wealth expansion at 198%, followed by hospitality and entertainment (146%), healthcare (75%) and financial services (74%). Real estate was the weakest performer, growing only 37%, signalling a shift from physical assets to the digital economy.
In Europe, names such as LVMH chief Bernard Arnault (US$236.4 billion) and Lidl owner Dieter Schwarz (about US$45.9 billion) helped lift the region past 1,000 billionaires.
Asia, however, slipped in the rankings. Although tycoons like Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan (US$79.9 billion) and Tencent’s Pony Ma (US$71.5 billion) remain, some mainland Chinese and Hong Kong billionaires dropped off the list.
Altrata’s figures show the entry bar for the billionaire club has risen to US$4.2 billion. Only 3.4% dropped off the list in 2024, the lowest proportion since 2022. Some high-profile figures, such as King Charles III with an estimated US$770 million, did not qualify.
Economists quoted in the report said the numbers underline a widening wealth inequality, with wealth increasingly concentrated in the hands of those who control technology, platforms and capital, while emerging markets face slowing growth and uneven income distribution.
North America remains the world’s biggest wealth centre, followed by Europe, while Asia is slowly losing ground in the ongoing AI-driven economic transition. Analysts warn that as AI advances, the gap between countries and individuals will grow, to the advantage of tech giants that both create and monopolise wealth.
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