$124 Trillion Wealth Transfer accelerates, Set to Reshape Global Finances
NEW YORK - December 6, 2025 – A historic shift in global wealth is underway, with an estimated $124 trillion poised to be transferred from older generations to heirs through 2048, a phenomenon dubbed the “Great Wealth Transfer.” The pace of this transfer is intensifying, marked by record inheritance figures and a growing cohort of newly self-made billionaires.
Cerulli Associates projected the $124 trillion figure last year, highlighting that over half of this wealth will originate from high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. UBS anticipates that billionaires alone will transfer approximately $6.9 trillion by 2040, with at least $5.9 trillion directly or indirectly benefiting their children.
While the scale of the transfer is ample, experts predict a gradual unfolding rather than a sudden surge. “I think the wealth transfer isn’t going to be just a big bang,” explained Tim Gerend, CEO of Northwestern Mutual, in a recent interview with Fortune. “It’s not like, we just passed peak age 65 and now all the money is going to move.”
Alongside inherited wealth, a new wave of entrepreneurs is contributing to the expanding ranks of the super-rich. In 2025, 196 individuals achieved self-made billionaire status, amassing a collective wealth of $386.5 billion – second only to the record year of 2021 and a notable increase from the 161 self-made billionaires with $305.6 billion in assets recorded the previous year.
These new billionaires are emerging from diverse sectors, including genetics and bioscience – exemplified by Ben Lamm, cofounder of Colossal – infrastructure investment, represented by Michael Dorrell, cofounder and CEO of Stonepeak, and energy, with Bob pender and Mike Sabel, cofounders of Venture Global.
“A fresh generation of billionaires is steadily emerging,” UBS stated. “In a highly uncertain time for geopolitics and economics, entrepreneurs are innovating at scale across a range of sectors and markets.”
