The ultra-rich no longer make their fortunes…They inherit them.

Apparently, a phenomenon is emerging among the vast wealth population that gives a new dimension to the very concept of wealth. Billionaires are no longer, for the most part, visionary titans who built empires from nothing, but rather inheritors of astronomical fortunes passed down from generation to generation. This “great wealth transfer,” which moves amounts greater than the GDP of entire nations, raises an uncomfortable question: What does success mean in a world where economic power is inherited rather than acquired? The answer speaks not only to inequality, but also to the makeup of the 21st-century elite, its codes of luxury, its way of protecting fortunes, and the way it celebrates—or displays—that legacy.

A new era in the global financial elite

For decades, the collective imagination has associated the word billionaire with visionary figures capable of building business empires from scratch. However, the reality has changed. For the first time in history, the world’s billionaires are accumulating more wealth through inheritance than through entrepreneurship, according to the latest UBS report. A phenomenon that experts call “the great wealth transfer” and that is redefining the profile of the ultra-rich in the 21st century.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: The face of the new inherited wealth

At the end of 2023, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal, became a centibillionaire, surpassing the €100 billion mark, according to Forbes. Although her mother, Liliane, was involved in financial scandals that put part of her estate at risk, Françoise has multiplied the family fortune by prudently managing her inherited assets.

Her case is not an isolated one. According to the analysis firm New World Wealth, there are 28,420 centibillionaires worldwide, more than double the number 20 years ago, and most owe their fortunes to inheritance, not business innovation.

UBS Report: Heirs outnumber entrepreneurs

UBS’s Global Wealth report revealed a turning point:

• Of the 137 new billionaires registered in 2023, 53 inherited fortunes valued at $150.8 billion.
• The remaining 84, considered self-made, generated a combined $140.7 billion.

In other words, inheritance now outweighs entrepreneurship in the creation of large fortunes. And while the number of billionaires grows, their gap with the rest of the population widens thanks to the performance of capital and financial markets: the more you have, the more you earn.

The Big Transfer: $5.2 trillion on the way

Over the next 20 years, more than 1,000 ultra-rich families are expected to transfer $5.2 trillion to their heirs, according to UBS. And that transition has already begun.

One example is Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, 28, heir to the Luxottica eyewear empire (Ray-Ban, Oakley, etc.). After his father died in 2022, he and his siblings each received $4.7 billion.

But death isn’t always necessary. Many boomer millionaires are transferring part of their fortune to their millennial children during their lifetime, through stocks, properties, or art. The reason, according to estate lawyer Michael Kosnitzky, is to “maintain some control over how their descendants manage their money.”

The Rise of family offices

The complexity of these fortunes has led to a boom in family offices, corporate structures that employ dozens of professionals dedicated exclusively to preserving and increasing the wealth of a single family.

In the United States, this phenomenon is especially pronounced: a study by the Institute for Policy Studies found that 27 of the 50 richest families of 2020 were already listed in the 1983 Forbes ranking, and that their fortunes increased tenfold in four decades.

Less philanthropy, More wealth defense

Unlike the previous generation, the new heirs seem less willing to share their fortune. Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies, explains that while the first generation trusts in its ability to generate wealth and donates some of it (like Warren Buffett), the second focuses on protecting it, funding lobbies that prevent estate or inheritance taxes.

This shielding, Collins warns, brings the world closer to what he calls an “oligarchy tipping point,” in which the concentration of wealth will become unsustainable for democratic societies.

The centibillionaire spectacle

Far from austerity, the new luxury magnates celebrate their economic power through lavish events. This summer, Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man with $123.7 billion, organized a $100 million wedding for his son, Anant. The 134-day affair became a global showcase of the excess and influence of 21st-century heirs.

A future of heirs or entrepreneurs?

The story of the new billionaires is not only a chronicle of fortunes changing hands, but a portrait of a world in which wealth is increasingly concentrated in family lines and distanced from individual merit. The so-called great transfer of wealth heralds a future where luxury and power will be inherited like family names, with heirs who no longer need to conquer, but to manage. But within this comfort lurks a dangerous tension: the more these fortunes are shielded, the greater the gap with the rest of society grows. The inevitable and urgent question is whether this model based on inheritance and accumulation will be sustainable, or whether we are witnessing the beginning of a cycle in which wealth will cease to be a symbol of aspiration and become an emblem of unbearable inequality.

A point often overlooked in this debate is that, although many of these new billionaires are not entrepreneurs in the classic sense, their role is not without merit. Managing a family legacy of astronomical dimensions requires exceptional preparation, strategic vision, and great management skills. Maintaining—and even increasing—fortunes that span generations is no easy task. It involves protecting assets without losing relevance in a rapidly changing global market.

I would argue that more than passive heirs, many of them are guardians of a legacy, and their success lies in preserving what they have built and adapting it to the challenges of a new century. A nuance that undoubtedly enriches this conversation.