- Money
The report forecasts $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years
Oliver HirtThursday 04 December 2025 10:35 GMTComments
CloseSwitzerland Protects Low-tax Model, Rejects 50% 'Rich Tax'
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Billionaires' families inherited a record amount of wealth in the 12 months to April, the highest since reporting began in 2015, UBS's Billionaire Ambitions Report reveals.
The Swiss bank said 91 people became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion, up more than a third from 2024.
"These heirs are proof of a multi-year wealth transfer that’s intensifying," said UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli.
Drawing on client surveys and a database across 47 markets, the report forecasts $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years.
Most of this inheritance growth is set to take place in the United States, with India, France, Germany and Switzerland next on the list, UBS estimated.
However, billionaires are highly mobile, especially younger ones, which could change that picture, it added.
Activists from the 'Make Them Pay' and 'Make Polluters Pay' coalitions have called for higher taxes on billionaires (AFP/Getty)The search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions to relocate, according to the report.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years according to the bank, voters on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of $62 million or more, after critics said it could trigger an exodus of wealthy people.
Switzerland, the UAE, the US and Singapore are among billionaires' preferred destinations, UBS's Cavalli said.
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"In Switzerland, Sunday's vote may have helped to increase the country's appeal again," he said.
Swiss voters were 78 per cent against the plan, an outcome that even exceeded the two‑thirds opposition indicated in polls.
Bankers have watched the vote in Switzerland closely, casting it as a litmus test of appetite for wealth redistribution in Switzerland, as other countries, such as Norway, have beefed up their wealth tax or debated similar moves.
Switzerland is home to some of the world's most expensive cities and anxiety about the cost of living has been gaining currency in local politics.
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