Advisors serving the ultra-wealthy should be paying close attention to what's happening beneath the headline growth figures in several recent reports on global wealth gains.
Because as well as the fast growth of wealth globally, as identified by a recent UBS report; and the dominance of the US, as highlighted by Capgemini; a new report notes that the ultra-high-net-worth population is an aging client base on the cusp of one of the largest wealth transfers in history, and one where the profile of who controls that wealth is shifting.
According to Altrata’s World Ultra Wealth Report, nearly 40% of the world's roughly 557,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those holding fortunes above 30 million dollars) are now aged 70 or older. That's close to 220,000 people.
Just 8% of the segment is under 50, underscoring how long it typically takes to accumulate and sustain this level of wealth, even as digital transformation and more frequent family asset transfers have sped up the process for some.
The average age of the global ultra-wealthy population sits at 67, but that masks meaningful regional variation with direct implications for how advisors approach different markets.
North America's ultra-wealthy class averages 68 years old, a full four years older than Asia's, where a large share of wealth creation has occurred within the past two or three decades among a comparatively younger cohort. Europe falls in between, reflecting its deep tradition of family-owned wealth alongside newer gains among younger entrepreneurs across central and eastern Europe.
That age skew in North America is tied closely to another regional distinction: self-made wealth, with four in five ultra-wealthy North Americans having built their own fortunes, compared with roughly two-thirds in both Europe and Asia.
Altrata pointed to the US in particular as having cultivated a deep bias toward entrepreneurialism, equity ownership and diversified asset growth. China stands out as an exception within Asia, with a 92% share of self-made wealth, while Japan and India show notably lower shares of fully self-created fortunes within the region.
Gender is the other axis reshaping the succession conversation.
Women currently make up just 12% of the global ultra-wealthy population, a proportion that has climbed only modestly, from 8.2% in 2016 to roughly 10.2% today. But Altrata’s report forecasts that share will nearly double to 19% by 2040, driven by expanding opportunities for female entrepreneurship, rising executive compensation, and above all the accelerating pace of intergenerational wealth transfers already underway.
Asia currently has the highest share of female ultra-wealthy individuals at 13%, attributed in part to its larger pool of younger, first-generation wealth creators.
The pace of new wealth creation adds further texture to the succession story. The number of centi-millionaires, those with fortunes above 100 million dollars, has nearly doubled over the past decade to more than 117,000 in 2025, up from 60,000 in 2015, driven largely by the technology boom. That expansion is adding a younger, tech-derived layer of wealth even as the broader ultra-wealthy population continues to skew older.
Portfolio composition data in the report also points to what advisors may be managing through any transfer. The typical ultra-wealthy individual holds 63% of assets in publicly and privately owned business holdings, reflecting how often this group's members are founders, chief executives or senior operating leaders rather than passive investors. Liquid assets such as cash and dividends make up close to 29% of the average portfolio, with real estate and luxury holdings accounting for under 10%.
Altrata's researchers noted that asset allocation strategies are far from static, shifting continually in response to an individual's life stage, the performance of privately held businesses, and what the firm called accelerating generational wealth transfer, alongside geopolitical instability and shifting tax and residency rules.
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