America’s billionaires control 43% of the world’s wealth economy

In a scene that redefines the standards of wealth and influence in the 21st century, the Wall Street Journal revealed, in an extensive report based on data from the financial analysis company Ultrata, an unprecedented boom in major individual wealth around the world.

The wealth of billionaires rose to $13.4 trillion in 2024, an annual increase of 10.3% compared to the previous year, which is the highest level in the history of monitoring.

The report attributes this jump to the strong performance of global stock markets and the boom in the technology and artificial intelligence sectors, which contributed to redrawing the map of global wealth in a sharp and unequal manner.

America is at the top

The report indicates that the number of billionaires around the world has reached 3,508 people, of whom 1,135 are Americans, or about a third of the global total. The total value of the wealth of American billionaires amounts to $5.7 trillion, representing 43% of the combined wealth of billionaires around the world.

As for China, it came in second place with 321 billionaires who own $1.3 trillion, equivalent to 10% of the total global wealth.

As for Europe, the number of its billionaires exceeded a thousand for the first time since data collection began more than a decade ago.

Artificial intelligence widens the gap

The Wall Street Journal explained that the boom in the technology and artificial intelligence sector has contributed to doubling the wealth of wealthy Americans, led by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, driven by huge gains in the stock markets.

The report shows that the technology sector topped the growth in wealth by 198% between 2015 and 2025, followed by the hospitality and entertainment sectors by 146%, then health care by 75% and the financial sector by 74%. On the other hand, the real estate sector recorded the weakest performance with a growth rate that did not exceed 37% during the same period, which reflects the shift of the center of gravity towards the digital economy.

Europe is advancing and China is declining

For the first time in a decade, the number of European billionaires exceeded a thousand people, according to Ultrata data, and the list included prominent names such as Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French LVMH group, with a fortune of $236.4 billion, and Dieter Schwarz, owner of the German Lidl department store chain, with a fortune of $45.9 billion.

On the other hand, the position of the Asian region declined after a number of major names in China and Hong Kong left the rich list, despite the continued presence of figures such as Zhong Shanshan, founder of the bottled water company Nongfu Spring, with a fortune estimated at $79.9 billion, and Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent, with a fortune of $71.5 billion.

A new threshold for wealth and troubling social implications

According to the report, the minimum threshold for entering the list of billionaires reached $4.2 billion, while the number of those leaving the list decreased to only 3.4% in 2024, which is the lowest rate since 2022. Prominent figures such as King Charles III were also excluded, as his wealth was estimated at only $770 million, which does not qualify him to enter the list.

Economists confirm that these numbers show a widening gap between the rich and other segments of society, as wealth is more and more concentrated in the hands of a small minority, at a time when emerging economies are suffering from slow growth and declining equity in income distribution.

The North American region remains the largest center for wealth accumulation in the world, followed by Europe, while Asia continues to lose its competitive position in light of global economic transformations.

Analysts believe that the rise of artificial intelligence will deepen this disparity between countries and individuals in the future, with economic power shifting towards major technology companies that have begun to produce and monopolize wealth at the same time.