UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022: 2,668 Billionaires with $12.7 trillion Wealth, Top 5 Sectors are Finance & Investments, Technology, Manufacturing, Fashion & Retail and Healthcare
17th December 2022 | Hong Kong
UBS has released the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022, providing insights into the global landscape of billionaires, preferred billionaires top sectors for business & investment returns, billionaire views on solving environmental & society problems and insights on agricultural technology sectors. In 2022, there are 2,668 billionaires (2021: 2,755) with $12.7 trillion wealth (2021: $13.1 trillion). The top 5 most billionaires by sectors are from Finance & investments (392), Technology (348), Manufacturing (338), Fashion & retail (249), and Healthcare (216) and the top 5 most billionaire wealth by sectors are Technology ($2.23 trillion), Finance & investments ($1.74 trillion), Fashion & retail ($1.61 trillion), Manufacturing ($1.09 trillion), and Diversified ($946 billion). The top 5 countries with most billionaires are United States (735), Mainland China (540), Germany (134), India (166), Russia (83), and the top 5 countries billionaire wealth by region are United States ($4.7 trillion), Mainland China ($2.02 trillion), India ($749 billion), Germany ($608 billion), and France ($550 billion). The top 5 sectors for billionaires business & investment returns are in Energy (44%), Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (32%), Software & services (32%), Healthcare equipment & services (28%), and Utilities (20%) and the top 5 region for business & investment returns are APAC ex-Mainland China (58%), North America (50%), Mainland China (42%), and Middle East (19%). 67% of billionaires view it is their responsibility to lead the way on environmental & social problems and use their wealth and/or resources to help tackle global challenges. The top 3 ways to solve environmental & society problems are through Businesses (43%), Philanthropy / charitable giving (39%), Investing in areas connected to the world’s global challenges (35%). See below for key findings & summary | View UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022 here
“ 2,668 Billionaires with $12.7 trillion Wealth, Top 5 Sectors with Most Billionaires are Finance & Investments, Technology, Manufacturing, Fashion & Retail and Healthcare “
UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022
UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022
The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022, providing insights into the global landscape of billionaires, preferred billionaires top sectors for business & investment returns, billionaire views on solving environmental & society problems and insights on agricultural technology sectors.
Key Findings
- Total no. of Billionaires – 2,668 Billionaires (2021: 2,755)
- Total billionaire wealth – $12.7 trillion wealth (2021: $13.1 trillion)
- No. of New Billionaires – 360
- No. of Billionaires Dropout – 273
- Top 5 Most Billionaires by Sectors – Finance & investments (392), Technology (348), Manufacturing (338), Fashion & retail (249), Healthcare (216)
- Top 5 Most Billionaire Wealth by Sectors: Technology ($2.23 trillion), Finance & investments ($1.74 trillion), Fashion & retail ($1.61 trillion), Manufacturing ($1.09 trillion), Diversified ($946 billion)
- Top 5 Most Billionaires by Countries – United States (735), Mainland China (540), Germany (134), India (166), Russia (83)
- Top 5 Most Billionaire Wealth by Region – United States ($4.7 trillion), Mainland China ($2.02 trillion), India ($749 billion), Germany ($608 billion), France ($550 billion)
On Preferred Business / Investment Returns
- Top 5 Sectors for business/investment returns – Energy (44%), Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (32%), Software & services (32%), Healthcare equipment & services (28%), Utilities (20%)
- Top 5 Region for business / investment returns – APAC ex-Mainland China (58%), North America (50%), Mainland China (42%), Middle East (19%)
On Environmental & Society Problems
- Billionaire Views on Environmental & Society Problems – 67% view it is their responsibility to lead the way on this and use their wealth and/or resources to help tackle global challenges –
- Top 3 Ways Billionaires Solve Environmental & Society Problems – Businesses (43%), Philanthropy / charitable giving (39%), Investing in areas connected to the world’s global challenges (35%)
- Top 200 Billionaires Agricultural Technology Sectors – Alternative Proteins, Smart machinery & equipment, Carbon neutralization & measurement, Fertilizers & crop protection, Supply chain management, Smart crop monitoring & management, Vertical farming, Agriculture marketplace, Industrial genetic engineering
- Most Recent 3 Private Market Investment in Agricultural Technology – Fertilizers & crop protection $125.5 million in 2022 (Fall Line Capital, Post IPO Equity), Fertilizers & crop protection – $250 million in 2021 (Upfront Ventures, Series D), Vertical farming – $170 million in 2020 (Astanor Ventures, Series C)
1) Billionaires
A) Most Billionaires by Sector:
- Finance & investments – 392
- Technology – 348
- Manufacturing – 338
- Fashion & retail – 249
- Healthcare – 216
- Food & beverage – 203
- Real estate – 192
- Diversified – 181
- Energy – 97
- Media & entertainment – 95
- Automotive – 68
- Metals & mining – 67
- Construction & engineering – 46
- Service – 54
- Telecom – 37
- Logistics – 35
- Sports – 27
- Gambling & casinos – 23
Total – 2,668 Billionaires (2021: 2,755)
B) Most Billionaire Wealth by Sector:
- Technology – $2.23 trillion
- Finance & investments – $1.74 trillion
- Fashion & retail – $1.61 trillion
- Manufacturing – $1.09 trillion
- Diversified – $946 billion
- Food & beverage – $935 billion
- Healthcare – $709 billion
- Real estate – $686 billion
- Automotive – $518 billion
- Energy – $471 billion
- Media & entertainment – $443 billion
- Metals & mining – $379 billion
- Telecom – $207 billion
- Logistics – $196 billion
- Service – $190 billion
- Construction & engineering – $123 billion
- Gambling & casinos – $107 billion
- Sports – $98 billion
Total – $12.7 trillion wealth (2021: $13.1 trillion)
C) Top 5 Sectors with Most New Billionaires
- Finance & investments – 50
- Manufacturing – 44
- Technology – 41
- Healthcare – 24
- Fashion & retail – 21
D) Top 5 Sectors with Most Billionaires Dropout
- Technology – 57
- Fashion & retail – 45
- Manufacturing – 37
- Real estate – 35
- Food & beverage – 31
E) Billionaires – New & Dropout in 2022
- No. of New Billionaires – 360
- No. of Billionaires Dropout – 273
F) Most Billionaires by Region (Selected Countries Only)
- United States – 735
- Mainland China – 540
- Germany – 134
- India – 166
- Russia – 83
- Hong Kong – 67
- Canada – 63
- Brazil – 62
- United Kingdom – 49
- France – 43
- Japan – 40
- Switzerland – 41
- Singapore – 26
G) Most Billionaire Wealth by Region
- United States – $4.7 trillion
- Mainland China – $2.02 trillion
- India – $749 billion
- Germany – $608 billion
- France – $550 billion
- Hong Kong – $383 billion
- Russia – $326 billion
- Canada – $242 billion
- Brazil – $186 billion
- United Kingdom – $199 billion
- Switzerland – $181 billion
- Japan – $154 billion
- Singapore – $106 billion
2) Billionaire Views on Business / Investment Returns
Top Sectors for business/investment returns
- Energy – 44%
- Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology – 32%
- Software & services – 32%
- Healthcare equipment & services – 28%
- Utilities – 20%
- Real estate – 16%
- Technology hardware & equipment – 16%
- Banks / financial services – 16%
- Hospitality & food – 8%
- Consumer goods – 8%
- Telecommunication services – 8%
- Capital goods (i.e. assets used to produce other goods or services such as buildings, equipment, machinery, etc.) – 4%
- Automotive & components – 4%
- Construction – 4%
- Basic materials (chemicals, building materials, paper products) – 4%
- Manufacturing – 4%
- Retailing – 4%
- Media – 0%
- Commercial & professional services (e.g. law, accountancy, architecture, etc.) – 0%
- Transportation – 0%
- Other – 16%
Top Region for business/investment returns
- APAC (Ex-Mainland China) – 58%
- North America – 50%
- Mainland China – 42%
- Middle East – 19%
- Western Europe – 15%
- Africa – 12%
- Latin America – 12%
- Eastern Europe – 4%
3) Billionaire Views on Environmental & Society Problems
Billionaire Views on Environmental & Society Problems:
- Our responsibility to lead the way on this and use our wealth and/or resources to help tackle global challenges – 67%
- Bot our responsibility to lead the way on this but we should use our wealth and/or resources to help tackle global challenges – 29%
- Not our responsibility to lead the way on this and we shouldn’t have to use our wealth and/or resources to help tackle global challenges
Billionaires Solve Environmental & Society Problems:
- Through my businesses – 43%
- Through philanthropy / charitable giving – 39%
- By investing in areas connected to the world’s global challenges – 35%
- As a catalytic capital investor (i.e. I’ve accepted a lower level of return or a higher level of risk in order to change the financial conditions of an investment and encourage others to invest) – 17%
- Raising awareness of the world’s global challenges – 13%
By partnering with charities as an advocate and/or ambassador – 4%
Other – 4% - Not applicable – I don’t feel I currently get involved in supporting global challenges in any way – 9%
No. of Patents in Billionaire related companies
- 2022 – 5,565
- 2021 – 4,804
- 2020 – 3,917
- 2015 – 1,372
- 2010 – 182
4) Agricultural Technology
Top 200 Billionaires Agricultural Technology Sectors
- Alternative Proteins
- Smart machinery & equipment
- Carbon neutralization & measurement
- Fertilizers & crop protection
- Supply chain management
- Smart crop monitoring & management
- Vertical farming
- Agriculture marketplace
- Industrial genetic engineering
Top 10 Private Market Investment in Agricultural Technology Since 2010 (Crunchbase) – By Year
- Fertilizers & crop protection – $125.5 million in 2022 (Fall Line Capital, Post IPO Equity)
- Fertilizers & crop protection – $250 million in 2021 (Upfront Ventures, Series D)
- Vertical farming – $170 million in 2020 (Astanor Ventures, Series C)
- Alternative proteins – $148 million in 2019 (VisVires New Protein, Series C)
- Smart crop monitoring & management – $90 million in 2018 (Almanac Insights, Series B)
- Vertical farming – $200 million in 2017 (Finistere Ventures, Series B)
- Fertilizers & crop protection – $33 million in 2016 (Upfront Ventures, Series B)
- Smart crop monitoring & management – $40 million in 2015 (Promus Ventures, Series B)
- Smart crop monitoring & management – $250 million in 2014 (Promus Ventures, Series A)
- Fertilizers & crop protection – $13 million in 2013 (Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Venture Round)
Farm-to-table value chain AgTechs:
- Smart machinery and equipment
- Agriculture inputs and agriculture marketplace
- Vertical farming and greenhouses
- Smart crop monitoring and managemen
- Fertilizers & crop protection
- Plant breeding
- Nurseries
- Carbon neutralization
- Supply chain management
- Novel ingredients and industrial genetic engineering
- Personalized health and nutrition
- Food waste management
- Alternative proteins
- Online grocery
- Cloud kitchen
UBS Survey
UBS conducted an online survey of its billionaire clients that are booked in Switzerland, Europe (excl. Switzerland), Singa-pore, Hong Kong, and the US between 29 June to 5 September 2022. The total sample size achieved in the survey was 28 respondents. In addition, UBS gathered the views of its billionaire clients that are booked in Switzerland, Europe (excl. Switzerland), Singapore, Hong Kong and the US attending an event on 27 and 28 October 2022. The event attendees were asked aseries of open-ended questions which captured their spon- taneous thoughts. The total sample size achieved was 22 respondents.
About UBS
UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 29% in Switzerland, 20% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
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