The past 20 years' exceptional wealth creation will soon be followed by the "biggest-ever" wealth transfer, according to UBS and PwC's latest Billionaires Report.
The report estimates that approximately 460 billionaires worldwide will transfer $2.1 trillion – which, for size, is the equivalent of India's GDP – to their heirs over a period of just 20 years. In the U.S. alone, approximately $1.1 trillion will transfer to the next generation.
"Shifts in the structure of that wealth matters to the wealthy and their families," the report states. "But they also impact the global economy and society as a whole."
The report, which incorporates 20 years of data that track more than 1,400 billionaires across the 14 largest billionaire markets, explores the potential impact of this massive handover.
The report expects this "critical handover" to have significant implications.
"As great wealth trickles down the generations, its goals will change," the report states. "We are already seeing the early stages of what we expect to be an upsurge in philanthropy."
The report includes an in advisor, who has several billionaire families as clients, that attributes the difference between generations partly to the wide range of life choices available now.
"Today's next gens are facing a much wider array of options due to better education, digitization and technology," the advisor states in the report. "This amplifies the importance of purpose and meaning for them when choosing what to do and what not to do."
