In 2023, billionaire wealth in Singapore surged by 31.2%, reaching a total of US$135.8 billion, compared to US$103.5 billion in 2022, according to the UBS Billionaires Ambitions Report released on November 30. The number of billionaires in the city-state rose from 34 in 2022 to 41 this year, with 75.6% of them being self-made.

The report identified seven new entrants to the billionaire ranks while noting that two billionaires from 2022 dropped out. This increase in wealth and billionaire count aligns with trends in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region, where cumulative wealth has grown significantly despite having fewer billionaires than some regional counterparts, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

However, while Singapore and some neighboring markets experienced robust growth, UBS reported that billionaire wealth in India decreased, and growth was slower in Greater China, reflecting a broader trend of relatively slow wealth creation following two decades of significant expansion.

Young Jin Yee, co-head of UBS Global Wealth Management for Apac, highlighted the ongoing dominance of the region in terms of both the number of billionaires and the proportion of self-made billionaires worldwide. The overall count of billionaires in the Apac region rose from 922 to 1,019, with their combined wealth increasing by 8.1% to US$3.7 trillion.

The report also anticipates a significant wealth transfer of US$5.2 trillion in the coming decades. Many billionaires in the region exhibited a “home bias,” with 50% viewing the Apac region as presenting the greatest opportunities for returns in the next 12 months.