SPAIN’S ultra-wealthy are living it up like never before, as their fortunes soar to a record-breaking $213.1 billion (€182.59 billion in 2025 – up 21.5% from last year.
A fresh crop of eight new billionaires has boosted the total number of Spain’s ultra-rich to 32, according to the latest UBS Billionaire Ambitions 2025 report.
Among Spain’s wealthiest, Amancio Ortega, the man behind Inditex (think Zara), has seen his fortune grow by a staggering $21 billion (€18 billion). He now sits on a colossal $124 billion, (€106.25 billion) making up 58% of the country’s total billionaire wealth.
The new billionaires are raking it in across a range of sectors – from marketing software and genetics to gas and LNG.
And with families consolidating wealth across generations, it looks like Spain’s wealthiest are only going to get richer – to the tune of $162 billion (€139 billion) over the next 15 years, predicts UBS.
But with all that money comes responsibility. UBS warns that the next generation of Spanish billionaires will have to balance preserving their legacy with the challenge of making their wealth have a positive social impact.
In other words, it’s not just about making more money – it’s about how that money affects the world.
The report reveals that the world’s ultra-wealthy have reached an all-time high, with a total fortune of $15.8 trillion (€13.54 trillion) in 2025.
That’s an increase of $386 billion (€330.7 billion), thanks to a surge in new businesses and an explosion in multigenerational inheritances.
Meanwhile, the number of billionaires worldwide has grown by 8.8%, reaching a total of 2,919 – with 196 self-made billionaires and 91 heirs benefiting from a record $297.8 billion (€255.2 billion) in inheritances.
Women still represent just 13% of the total number of billionaires, with 374 compared to 2,545 men.
In terms of where the super-rich are investing, North America is still the number one hotspot, attracting 63% of their wealth, followed by Western Europe (40%) and China (34%). Some 42% of billionaires plan to boost their investments in emerging markets over the next year.
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