Wealth of Singapore billionaires soars 66% to third-highest in Apac at US$258.8 billion
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.
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.
Source: Businesstimes