Billionaires' moolah grows astounding 121%

Billionaires have seen their combined wealth shoot up 121% over the past decade to $14 trillion (about R252 trillion), Swiss bank UBS said, with tech billionaires' coffers filling the fastest.

Switzerland's biggest bank, which is among the world's largest wealth managers, said the number of dollar billionaires increased from 1,757 to 2,682 over the past 10 years, peaking in 2021 with 2,686.

The 10th edition of UBS' annual Billionaire Ambitions report, which tracks the wealth of the world's richest people, found billionaires have comfortably outperformed global equity markets over the past decade.

The report documents "the growth and investment of great wealth, as well as how it's being preserved for future generations and used to have a positive effect on society", said Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS global wealth management.