The global billionaire population expanded by 4 percent in 2023 to 3,323 individuals, more than reversed the previous year’s decline to mark a new high in billionaire numbers, the new report entitled billionaire census 2024 published by Altrata has shown.

According to the census report, wealth holdings of the ultra-rich were bolstered by rising stock markets and firmer “risk-on” sentiment across most other asset classes. 

Of the global population of 3,323 billionaires, 431 were women. 

This gender split is similar to that of the Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) class, which is also heavily male dominated. 

Female billionaire representation has increased very gradually over the past decade (as it has in other high-wealth tiers), influenced by the  shifting pattern of global wealth distribution, growth in female entrepreneurship, slowly changing  cultural attitudes, and the rising frequency of substantial inter-generational wealth transfers.

Some 13 percent of female billionaires are below the age of 50, compared with 9 percent of their male counterparts. 

In terms of the older demographic of billionaires above the age of 70, female representation is slightly lower than it is for men. Most billionaires – both men and women – are aged between 50 and 70.

Three-quarters of female billionaires have inherited at least a portion of their wealth, compared with a third of male billionaires. The difference between the genders is especially stark for those with solely inherited fortunes. 

Almost 38 percent of female billionaires and many of the world’s very wealthiest women – such as Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, Alice Walton and Jacqueline Mars – gained their wealth exclusively from inheritance. In contrast, just 5 percent of their male counterparts have solely inherited fortunes.

Approximately a third of female billionaires gained their wealth through a blend of inheritance and self-created net worth. 

This is a similar proportion to that of male billionaires, highlighting the considerable benefits of receiving a substantial transfer of wealth. Meanwhile, a quarter of billionaire women have made their own fortunes. 

This is up from 16 percent five years ago but still lags well behind the 66 percent of male self-made billionaires. 

Among the group of female billionaires with solely inherited wealth, about half are over the age of 70, with one in six aged under 50. 

Most self-made billionaire women are in the 50-70 age bracket, with just one in 10 below the age of 50. 

This is a similar proportion to that of the global billionaire population, underlining the fact that, bar the odd exception, it takes considerable time to accumulate such a large stock of wealth.

“The world economy remained sluggish, constrained by high inflation, tight monetary policy, cost-of-living pressures and geopolitical instability, but it was ultimately more resilient than expected,” the census report says. 

Gradually easing inflation and the rising prospect of central bank interest rate cuts spurred a late-year rally in global equities. 

Amid growing optimism of a soft landing for the economy, total net worth of the billionaire class increased strongly by 9 percent to a record $12.1trn compared with a previous high of $11.7trn in 2021. 

There were contrasting sector returns, with the pattern largely a reverse of 2022. 

The strongest stock market gains were in technology (driven by surging investor enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence), financial services and consumer goods, which outperformed more defensive sectors such as healthcare, utilities and energy.

 Travel and tourism continued its post-pandemic revival, whereas higher interest rates weighed on real-estate activity and corporate transactions. 

High volatility crypto assets rallied strongly from their 2022 slump. 

The global backdrop for wealth markets remained turbulent amid increasingly complex geopolitics shaped by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, deepening rivalry between China and the west, a new Israel-Hamas war, widening trade restrictions, and ongoing tech and climate disruption.

The report shows that uneven distribution of global wealth is evident at all levels of society and across all wealth tiers, but is also present when examining the world’s super rich. 

In 2023, the billionaire class of 3,323 individuals represented just 0.01 percent of the global high net worth (HNW) population – individuals each with a fortune in excess of $1m – but held 8 percent of the total stock of HNW wealth. 

Narrowing the focus to just the very wealthy ultra-high net worth (UHNW) segment – numbering more than 426,000 individuals, each with a fortune of more than $30m – the billionaire population comprised only a 0.8 percent share, yet their collective net worth of $12.1trn accounted for an outsized 25 percent of total UHNW wealth. 

This proportion has risen from around 20 percent a decade ago, but has remained broadly stable over the past five years.

In terms of distribution by wealth tier within the billionaire class itself, just over half of the global population is in the “lowest” billionaire wealth bracket, each with a net worth of between $1bn and $2bn. 

A further third has a net worth of $2bn-$5bn. Viewed together, this group of 84 percent of all billionaires hold some 42 percent of total billionaire wealth. 

This fits with the general trend of a large share of a cohort’s population falling within the “lower” wealth tiers, as shown by the median wealth level ($1.8bn) of the global billionaire class being well below the mean average of $3.6bn.

Those with a net worth of between $5bn and $10bn comprise another 10percent of the global billionaire class. Rising further, a highly privileged 194 billionaires (up from 171 in 2022) each hold a fortune of more than $10bn. 

Comprising just 6 percent of the billionaire class, they control a staggering 41 percent of global billionaire wealth, with a combined net worth of almost $5trn.

An exclusive 18 individuals reside in the very top tier of billionaire wealth, each with a fortune in excess of $50bn. 

Over the past decade, the share of this group among the total billionaire population has risen just slightly, from a share of 0.2 percent in 2014 to the current 0.5 percent. 

More remarkable by far has been the relative increase in their combined wealth. In 2014, those in the “super-billionaire” class with a net worth of $50bn+ held 4 percent of global billionaire wealth. 

As of 2023, this share had risen fourfold to 16 percent. The total net worth of these 18 individuals amounted to $2trn, implying an average 12-figure fortune of just over $100bn.