The eleventh Billionaire Ambitions Report from Swiss bank UBS provides a sliver of hope in a shaky moment for dealers of art and antiques—if they manage to get access to that coveted demographic.
Global billionaire wealth reached an all-time high in 2025, says the report, published last week, noting that 196 self-made billionaires added $386.5 billion to their combined wealth, pushing that figure to a record $15.8 trillion—the second-highest annual increase recorded in the history of the report. The number of billionaires moreover rose by 8.8 percent, increasing from 2,682 to nearly 3,000. The great intergenerational wealth transfer is accelerating, says the bank, which notes that in 2025, 91 heirs inherited a record $297.8 billion—36 percent more than in 2024, despite fewer people inheriting overall.
Headquartered in Zurich, UBS manages $6.9 trillion in invested assets and operates in more than 50 markets around the globe. The bank surveyed 87 of its mega-wealthy clients in Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the U.S. about their intentions over the next twelve months, and therein lies some encouraging news for beleaguered dealers. Just over a quarter of those surveyed, or 27 percent, plan to “significantly or slightly” increase their investment in art and antiques, while nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, plan to continue to invest in this area at about the same level, totaling some 92 percent.
Matthew Newton, head of art advisory for Americas at UBS, notes that about the same percentage of billionaires plan to increase their art investing as plan to increase their investments in things like bonds, treasuries, cash, and precious metals.
Those assets “are not there to make you money, but to help you keep your money,” said Newton in a phone call. “That aligns with my experience speaking to our clients. Very, very few of them who have substantial collections, especially at the billionaire level, look to it as a way of getting rich. Most aren’t even looking to get a return off it. But it is something that’s very important to them and they’re going to keep doing it.”
Most enthusiastic about art and antiques are those in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). Over one third, or 35 percent, of billionaires plan to significantly or slightly increase their art investments in that broad area, home to the UK, one the world’s largest art markets. In the Asia-Pacific region, one-quarter plan to increase their art and antiquities purchases; China is another of the world’s largest art markets. Just 15 percent of those in the Americas, home to the U.S., the world’s largest art market, expressed the same intention.
“That three times as many want to increase exposure [as want to decrease it], that says buyer demand to me,” said Newton. “They want to participate and be involved. But which art do they want to buy? That’s what the galleries are having to figure out right now.”
