Wealth of Singapore billionaires soar 66% to third-highest in Apac at US$258.8 billion
Apac billionaires include the Zhang brothers behind Mixue; Tron blockchain’s Justin Sun
[SINGAPORE] The wealth of billionaires that reside in Singapore rose 66.4 per cent to US$258.8 billion in 2025, making it the third-largest market in terms of wealth in the Asia-Pacific region, behind China and India, according to a UBS report.
Singapore has 55 billionaires, with six new additions in 2025, according to UBS’ Billionaire Ambitions Report published on Thursday (Dec 4).
The Republic’s numbers included new entrants that had moved to the country, while strong currency and strong returns in the local stock market bolstered the value of wealth as well, according to Hartmut Issel, head chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific equities at UBS.
Issel also noted several billionaires in Singapore that had connections with China, which meant that they likely benefited from the strong tech boom in the market there.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific saw the highest number of new billionaires in 2025, most of whom are self-made, the report said.
The region’s total billionaire wealth increased 11.1 per cent to US$4.2 trillion, and it added 128 billionaires to reach 1,036 billionaires in the year.
Among business people, 61 of them became billionaires, amassing US$124.4 billion in total.
This includes China’s Zhang brothers, founders of the fast-food restaurant chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea; Justin Sun, the crypto entrepreneur behind the Tron blockchain; and Hao Tang, a pre-initial public offering (IPO) investor in Hong Kong-based marketing software and games company AppLovin.
In particular, mainland China added 70 billionaires to reach 470 in 2025, ranking it second in number only to the US. Wealth held by these billionaires rose 22.2 per cent to US$1.8 trillion.
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Conrad Huber, business sector head for non-resident Indians, India, Indonesia and Japan international at UBS, said that billionaires are getting younger and younger.
He noted strong market activity across the US, China, Hong Kong and India, where many IPOs were by tech companies.
Young Jin Yee, Singapore country head and co-head for global wealth management for Asia-Pacific, UBS, added that the rebound of the China market and the rest of the region has contributed to the wealth as well.
In fact, more billionaires are eyeing the Asia-Pacific and Greater China region for investment opportunities in the long term, reflecting confidence in the region, the report said.
Record wealth transfer
UBS also noted that wealth transfer was another key area of billionaire growth globally.
In 2025, 91 heirs globally inherited a record US$297.8 billion. The amount was 36 per cent higher than in 2024, despite fewer inheritors.
This was mainly in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, given that it hosts the most multigenerational billionaires.
In the next 15 years, UBS expects US$6.9 trillion of wealth globally to be transferred, with heirs in the US to inherit the most, given that around a third of billionaires live there.
In Asia, this figure is set to be US$1.29 trillion, with heirs in India to inherit the most.
UBS expects India to record a wealth transfer of US$382.4 billion by 2040, as many Indian billionaires are over 70 and have children.
Among the younger generation, 90 per cent of Asia-Pacific billionaires said technology and artificial intelligence is the most pressing social challenge.
This was echoed in the Americas by 84 per cent of respondents, while billionaires in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region viewed climate change as the top concern.
UBS also noted that women’s wealth is growing more than twice as fast as men’s, up 8.4 per cent at US$5.2 billion in 2025. The average growth rate of men’s wealth was 3.2 per cent, bringing it to US$5.4 billion.
There are more self-made female billionaires, particular in the consumer and retail sectors.
Inheritance is also contributing to wealth growth among females, as wealth transfer may not always be to the children first, but to the spouses, on top of the next generation.
Global numbers surge
Globally, billionaires’ total wealth rose 13 per cent to reach a new high of US$15.8 trillion in 2025.
As at April 2025, there were 2,919 billionaires, up 8.8 per cent.
This is just second to 2021’s exceptional rise in billionaires as a result of asset price appreciation following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some 196 self-made entrepreneurs became new billionaires, with total wealth of US$386.5 billion, amid widespread business creation.
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