The total wealth of Mena-based billionaires surpassed $165 billion in 2017, a rise of 15%. The number of billionaires in the region also increased by 24% to 52, according to the UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2018.
Last year was the biggest ever global increase in billionaire wealth, rising by 19% to $8.9 trillion and shared among 2,158 individuals. While the US still has the biggest concentration of billionaires, which grew by 12% to $3.1 trillion, the fastest growth rate was in Asia where billionaires’ wealth expanded at twice the global average (39%) to $1.12 trillion.
The survey also showed the beginning of what it claims will be a major wealth transition. With 701 billionaires currently over the age of 70, it is expected that almost 40% of current billionaire wealth will transition to heirs and philanthropy.
The report credits the next generation of billionaires as having a greater interest in sustainable investing with almost half (45%) of family offices planning to increase their sustainable investments in the next 12 months.
There has also been an increase in the number of self-made billionaires in 2017, accounting for 75% of Mena’s billionaires and totaling 199 globally, many of which have focused on areas of innovation such as blockchain, peer-to-peer lending, genomics and green energy.
©2018 funds global mena