Singapore ranks 3rd in Asia-Pacific for billionaire wealth

This marked increases of 17% in number and 66.4% in wealth, according to the Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025 report by Switzerland-based investment bank UBS.

Singapore minted six new billionaires this year, along with two who relocated to the city. About 69% of its billionaire population is self-made.

The report, now in its eleventh edition, covers billionaires, their fortunes and their ambitions in a period marked by rapid wealth creation, business breakthroughs and rising interest in philanthropic impact. It draws on a survey of a group of UBS’s billionaire clients across major global regions and the UBS/PwC billionaire database, which tracks billionaire wealth in 47 markets.

Within Asia Pacific, Singapore ranked behind China and India but ahead of Australia in total billionaire wealth, according to The Business Times.

Passers-by hold their mobile phones as people take a selfie photo using a smartphone, with Singapore's central business district skyline, in Singapore, May 10, 2019. Photo by Reuters

The report noted that the region recorded the largest number of new billionaires in 2025, at 128. It is now home to 1,036 billionaires, most of whom are self-made, with a combined wealth of $4.2 trillion, up 11.1% from a year ago.

"Asia-Pacific markets are broadly benefiting from the artificial intelligence trend and technological developments," Amy Lo Choi-wan, chairman of UBS global wealth management Asia and CEO of UBS Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post.

UBS added that the region also had a larger share of self-made female billionaires compared with others.

Globally, the number of billionaires globally stood at 2,919 as of April 2025, up 8.8% from the 2,682 recorded in last year’s report. Their combined wealth climbed 13% to reach $15.8 trillion, The Straits Times reported.

The U.S. led the world in both billionaire numbers and total wealth, with 924 individuals holding a combined $6.88 trillion.