Billianre wealth in Singapore grew by almost a third over the past year, rising 31.2 per cent to US$135.8 billion (S$181 billion) in 2023, from US$103.5 billion in 2022.

Data from the UBS Billionaires Ambitions Report 2023 released Thursday (Nov 30) indicated that there were 41 billionaires in the city state in 2023, up from 34 in 2022.

Out of the billionaires in 2023, 75.6 per cent were self-made. Seven were new entrants, while two billionaires recorded in 2022 dropped out.

Singapore is one of several markets within the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region where cumulative wealth increased by almost a third, despite having a smaller number of billionaires compared to its regional peers. Other examples include Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

By contrast, UBS noted that billionaire wealth fell in India and expanded more slowly in Greater China amid a larger regional trend of "relatively slow" wealth creation after considerable growth over the last two decades.

Young Jin Yee, co-head of UBS Global Wealth Management for Apac, nonetheless said the region continues to collectively have the highest number of billionaires and the highest proportion of self-made billionaires in the world.

"The number of billionaires in the region increased from 922 to 1,019, while their total wealth increased by 8.1 per cent to US$3.7 trillion. This growth is reflected in all markets including South-east Asia, Japan and India. Singapore's billionaires' wealth increased by almost a third," observed Young.

Additionally, UBS anticipates US$5.2 trillion of wealth handover in the next few decades.

Billionaires surveyed within the region were also noted to have a "home bias", as 50 per cent said they viewed Apac as the greatest opportunity for returns over the next 12 months.

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This article was first published in The Business Times. Permission required for reproduction.