UBS poll reveals how super-wealthy people want to use their fortunes to tackle global issues
The richest individuals are often called on to do more to ease some of the world’s biggest challenges. But it seems that’s exactly what they plan to do.
Billionaires want to use their fortunes to make positive impact according to the Billionaires Ambitions Report 2022 from global asset manager UBS.
A poll of its richest clients found that 95% of billionaires said they believe they should use their wealth to tackle the big issues and two thirds say it’s their duty to “lead the way” in this regard.
Asked where they think their money can make the biggest difference, this wealthy cohort most frequently cited smart agriculture, and clean water and sanitation. Broader areas of economic development and poverty alleviation were common responses.
Exactly how their help would be implemented varied, but more than half said they use their business capital to do things such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions, treating wastewater, or improving access to education.
Just over a third of billionaires do this via investing and roughly the same proportion through philanthropy.
The global impact investing market size is expected to grow from $354.41 billion in 2021 to $423.46 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% according to recent data from the Business Research Company. North America was the largest region in the impact investing market in 2021.
Impact legacy
The billionaires surveyed are keen that the next generation should embrace their values and continue the impact that their wealth can have.
Three quarters of respondents said that they want to pass on their values and principles to their heirs.
“We’re living through an era where instability and innovation collide. This has created a cohort of billionaires with a high level of technical expertise, who first and foremost see themselves as problem-solvers,” said George Athanasopoulos, Head of Global Family and Institutional Wealth at UBS. “Like everyone else, they are concerned about the challenges facing the world, and they are in an ideal position to use their entrepreneurial capital to deliver fresh approaches and effective ways of doing what’s needed to tackle these issues. They are optimistic about the role that private enterprise can play alongside governments in creating a positive impact for future generations.”
Billionaire population
UBS research, conducted in March 2022, shows that the global billionaire population declined to 2,668 billionaires versus 2,755 in the previous year.
Their combined fortune also slipped, from US$13.1 trillion in 2021 to $12.7 trillion in 2022.
These figures are likely to be lower now as asset prices have declined.
Among the billionaires in the finance sector, there were 50 new additions and 30 who dropped below a $1 billion fortune. Among the new billionaires were fintech disruptors, as well as private equity and hedge fund partners.
