China Adds 70 New Billionaires as Self-Made Wealth and Asia-Pacific Lead Glo...

Chinese mainland added 70 new billionaires in 2025, reinforcing its position as the world's second-largest billionaire hub after the United States, according to UBS's 11th annual Billionaires Report released this week.

The report shows the global billionaire population rose to 2,919 in 2025, with combined wealth increasing 13% to a record $15.8 trillion. Asia-Pacific posted the fastest growth of any region, with the number of billionaires climbing to 1,036 from 981 a year earlier.

Chinese mainland now counts 470 billionaires, UBS said, underscoring a renewed surge in wealth creation driven largely by technology and entrepreneurship after several years of market volatility.

Asia-Pacific sees strong gains

Across Asia-Pacific, 61 individuals joined the billionaire ranks in 2025, collectively amassing $124.4 billion. Among the new entrants were the Zhang brothers, founders of the Mixue Ice Cream & Tea fast-food chain, who became billionaires after a March initial public offering in Hong Kong crystallized their wealth.

Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON blockchain, benefited from rising digital asset prices, while Hao Tang, a pre-IPO investor in Hong Kong-based marketing software and gaming company AppLovin, saw his fortune grow as the company's share price surged.

UBS said self-made entrepreneurs continued to be the primary driver of global billionaire growth. In 2025, 196 self-made individuals became new billionaires, with a combined wealth of $386.5 billion.

Their businesses span sectors including marketing software, genetics, restaurant chains, infrastructure and liquefied natural gas (LNG), reflecting what UBS described as innovation-driven business creation rather than asset inflation.

While the number of self-made new billionaires ranked second only to 2021, when 360 individuals amassed $782.0 billion, UBS said the sources of wealth were more diversified. The 2021 surge was largely fueled by asset price appreciation amid abundant liquidity following the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas 2025's gains were driven by widespread business formation and operational growth.

The trend has been building for years. In 2024, 161 self-made entrepreneurs crossed the $1 billion threshold with combined assets of $305.6 billion, up from 84 individuals with $140.7 billion in 2023.

Asia-Pacific led all regions, with self-made billionaires accounting for 79% of the total, the highest share globally.

"The Greater China region is now the largest growth engine for billionaire wealth," said Lu Zijie, head of UBS Wealth Management China. Total billionaire wealth in Chinese mainland reached $1.8 trillion in 2025, up 22.2% year on year, she said.

Nearly 98% of Chinese mainland's billionaire wealth is self-made, reflecting the country's first-generation entrepreneur profile. Many of the 70 new billionaires added this year come from information technology and other high-tech industries and are younger on average than their peers in other regions.

Globally, technology tied with consumer and retail as the largest contributor to billionaire wealth. Tech billionaires' assets rose 23.8% to $3 trillion, UBS said. Six U.S. technology billionaires recorded the largest absolute gains, adding a combined $171 billion, largely driven by advances in artificial intelligence across chips, cloud infrastructure and AI-powered platforms.

Inheritance reaches record levels

Inheritance also played a growing role in billionaire wealth accumulation. In 2025, 91 heirs — 64 men and 27 women — inherited a record $297.8 billion, up 36% from 2024 despite a smaller number of inheritors.

Western Europe emerged as a focal point. Forty-eight Western Europeans inherited $149.5 billion, more than double the $86.5 billion inherited by 18 individuals in North America and more than four times the $24.7 billion inherited by 11 individuals in Southeast Asia.

The European figure was boosted by 15 members of two German pharmaceutical families, ranging in age from 19 to 94, UBS said.

As a result, the number of multi-generational billionaires rose globally. UBS said 860 multi-generational billionaires now hold combined assets of $4.7 trillion, up from 805 individuals with $4.2 trillion a year earlier.

Despite North America remaining the top investment destination, its dominance has weakened. Sixty-three percent of billionaires surveyed said North America offers the best return prospects over the next 12 months, down from 80% in 2024.

Interest in other regions has increased. Forty percent of respondents favored Western Europe, while confidence in Greater China rebounded sharply, with 34% identifying it as offering the best opportunities, up from just 11% a year earlier.

Billionaires are also increasing allocations to infrastructure and gold, while raising exposure to both emerging and developed market equities.

At the same time, concerns persist. Tariffs, major geopolitical conflicts and policy uncertainty ranked as the top risks for the year ahead. UBS noted that Asia-Pacific billionaires showed higher-than-average risk awareness, particularly around trade barriers.

Looking further ahead, three-quarters of billionaires surveyed said technology and artificial intelligence pose major societal challenges for younger generations, while 55% cited climate change as a key concern.