At first glance, the great inheritance is obvious: as older generations age, their share of the world’s wealth diminishes. However, the scale, speed and characteristics of this shift are eye-opening. The Altrata World Ultra Wealth Report 2025 reveals that the future of extreme wealth will look profoundly different from its past.
We are witnessing a wholesale changing of the guard. By 2040, the generational makeup of the ultra-wealthy will turn on its head. The generations we now call Gen Z and Millennials, today a modest 8 per cent of the ultra-wealthy, will see their share surge to 35 per cent. Their predecessors in Generation X will become the dominant force, their presence almost doubling to 45 per cent. In turn, the combined reign of the Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation will wane, falling from a commanding 67 per cent to just 20 per cent.
This is more than a demographic footnote; it is a portrait of a new elite with new tastes. The sources of their wealth reveal a clear story. While banking remains significant, the younger ultra-wealthy are building fortunes in the experience economy. A striking 15 per cent have their primary focus in hospitality and entertainment, while nearly 9 per cent are in technology – both sectors far more prominent for them than for their parents. Their passions reflect this: sports, technology, and philanthropy rank as their top personal interests.
Their spending provides a window into this new world of privilege, accounting for a fifth of the entire global luxury market – a spend that reached $290bn last year. The breakdown is a menu of modern aspiration: The breakdown is a menu of modern aspiration: over $100 billion on luxury cars, $28.6 billion on private jets and yachts, and $25.3 billion on luxury hospitality. They also invest in beauty, spending $19.6 billion on fine art – a passion that doubles as a strategic asset.
Related
But this generation’s legacy is not just in what it buys, but in what it builds and gives. A surge of inter-generational wealth transfers is creating a new wave of entrepreneurs who blend inheritance with self-creation. Their philanthropic footprint is immense, accounting for more than a third of all individual giving. And their connections are their currency; the average ultra-wealthy individual moves in a network of at least 70 others of similar means, creating a powerful, global circuit of influence.
The great inheritance, then, is not merely a transfer of money. It is a transfer of mindset. The new faces of fortune are more technologically fluent, their wealth more dispersed across emerging global hubs, and their priorities are shifting. They are set to redefine what it means to be wealthy for decades to come.
Content from our partners
