Wealth-X expects more than US$18 trillion to be transferred by almost 680,000 individuals globally

High-net-worth individuals and their families, those with US$5 million or more in net worth, are expected to transfer a combined US$18.2 trillion by 2030, according to a Wealth-X report.

The wealth transfer will be carried out by approximately 680,000 individuals across the globe, averaging US$27 million per person, according to Wealth-X, a wealth data and insight provider with offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those with a net worth of more than US$30 million), numbered at 2.72 million in 2020, will account for 87% of all individual wealth transfers by 2030, averaging US$135 million per person, according to the report.

Billionaires, who number about 1,200 globally, will be responsible for nearly half of the total wealth transferred by that date, although the wealth they will pass on accounts for just 20% of their collective net worth, the report said.

Across the regions, wealthy North Americans will transfer US$10.6 trillion, or nearly 60% of the total over the next decade. Europe’s high-net-worth individuals and families will transfer US$3.6 trillion by 2030, accounting for 15% of all wealth transferred.

Asia is expected to transfer US$2.5 billion in wealth, as the average age of wealthy individuals in many Asian countries is significantly younger than in most other regions.

About 90% of donors, or those who will be transferring wealth by 2030, will be men. Most donors are between the ages of 70 and 80.

At least two-thirds of all donors have created their fortunes without the help of inheritance. Among the very-high-net-worth group (those with a net worth between US$5 million and US$30 million), 85% of donors are self-made, according to the report.