On April 23 (local time), according to The Guardian, the number of billionaires worldwide is increasing rapidly and could reach nearly 4,000 by 2031.
Currently, there are about 3,110 billionaires in the world, according to analysis by research company Knight Frank. This number is forecast to increase by about 25% in the next 5 years, to about 3,915 people.
Not only billionaires, the super-rich class is also expanding strongly. The number of people with assets of 30 million USD or more has increased from about 162,000 people in 2021 to more than 713,000 people today.
Mr. Liam Bailey - Head of Research at Knight Frank - said that this growth mainly comes from profits in the technology sector, especially artificial intelligence (AI). He believes that expanding business scale today is easier than before, helping to create large assets in a short time.
The report also shows that the rate of billionaire growth will be fastest in Saudi Arabia, where the number of billionaires may increase from 23 to 65 by 2031. Some European countries such as Poland and Sweden are also forecast to increase sharply.
Meanwhile, the global wealth gap continues to widen. A previous report showed that less than 60,000 of the richest people in the world possess assets three times greater than half of the poorest population.
The rise of the super-rich also led to debates over taxes and policies. Many organizations called for higher taxes on the wealthy to reduce inequality and limit their political influence.
According to Forbes' list, the richest person in the world today is Elon Musk with assets of about 785 billion USD. Behind are Larry Page and Jeff Bezos.
In the UK, the number of billionaires has slightly decreased to 156 in 2025, the largest decrease in more than 30 years. Some experts believe that changes in tax policy and investment environment have caused part of the super-rich to leave the country.
The report also shows that Asia-Pacific may surpass North America to become the region with the most billionaires in the world by 2031, although it does not provide detailed forecasts.
