 "AI boom is making billionaires richer, more in the West than Asia")
The ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom is enriching billionaires across the globe, though the trend is notably more pronounced in the West than in Asia, where China’s economic slowdown has dampened wealth creation, according to wealth intelligence firm Altrata.
In its Billionaire Census 2025, Altrata highlights that the technology sector features prominently among the world’s wealthiest individuals.
The driving force behind this reality is the AI boom, which has led to significant gains in the portfolio valuations of US-based figures such as Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page, the report stated.
For context, nine of the top ten richest individuals in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index hail from the technology sector.
Altrata’s report also found that wealth concentration has intensified: just 26 individuals worldwide, each possessing more than $50 billion in wealth, account for 21 per cent of global billionaire wealth.
This ‘super-billionaire’ class has seen the most dynamic wealth generation over the past decade, underscoring the hyper-concentration of global wealth at the very top, the report noted.
For comparison, in 2014, those in the highest wealth tier —net worth of over $50 billion— held just 4 per cent of global billionaire wealth. By 2024, that figure had surged to 21 per cent, up from 16 per cent the previous year.
US leads, Europe gains ground, China falls behind
The United States continues to dominate in terms of billionaire wealth, with Altrata reporting that the country holds as much as 43 per cent of the world’s billionaire wealth.
“The cumulative wealth held by the country’s richest individuals has soared in recent years, supported by a resilient US economy but driven primarily by the outperformance of US equity markets, which have been heavily reliant on a handful of mega-cap tech stocks,” the report stated.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith 1,135 billionaires, the United States accounts for one-third of the global billionaire population.
In Europe, the number of billionaires surpassed the 1,000-mark for the first time in 2024. However, Asia recorded below-average growth, with only a 2.6 per cent increase in its billionaire population. This was attributed to the structural slowdown of China’s economy, uneven performance across other regional markets, and ongoing trade tensions.
As for sectors, technology remains a consistent driver of billionaire growth. The report noted that billionaires whose fortunes are tied to the technology or hospitality and entertainment sectors have seen the strongest net worth gains over the past decade.
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