UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2019: Billionaire-controlled companies return almost twice the average market performance

Key findings:

• Over the 15 years to the end of 2018, billionaire-controlled companies listed on the equity market returned 17.8 percent, compared with the 9.1 percent of the MSCI AC World Index
  
• The strong dollar and volatile equity markets saw billionaire wealth decrease to USD 8.5 trillion after five years of growth
  
• The Americas saw a slight increase in wealth, adding 33 new billionaires in 12 months
  
• Tech billionaires saw their wealth increase more than any other sector last year, fuelled by existing businesses and disruptive new market entrants
  
• Billionaires are now using their business experience to drive impact through philanthropy
  
• The number of female billionaires has grown by 46 percent in five years
  

Zurich/London, 8 November 2019 - Billionaire-controlled companies have returned almost twice the average market performance over the past 15 years, new research published today reveals.

This is one of the findings of the annual UBS and PwC Billionaires Insights report, The Billionaire Effect. The report also reveals that, more broadly, billionaires' wealth dipped by USD 388 billion in 2018, following five years of growth.

Asia's billionaires saw a correction following five years of significant growth, during which their wealth almost quadrupled. By contrast, the Americas saw a slight wealth increase this year, led by prominent US tech billionaires. Despite slowing growth last year, billionaire wealth is over a third higher (34.5 percent) than five years earlier, amounting to an increase of USD 2.2 trillion.

Josef Stadler, Head of Ultra High Net Worth at UBS Global Wealth Management, commented on the new report: 'The billionaire boom of the past five years has now undergone a natural correction. The stronger dollar, combined with greater uncertainty in equity markets amidst a tough geopolitical environment, has created the conditions for this dip.

'Nevertheless, it's clear that billionaire businesses continue to thrive. Billionaires are creating and steering businesses that consistently outperform equity markets. This business acumen has also translated into their philanthropy, as billionaires seek new ways to engineer far-reaching environmental and social change. This 'Billionaire Effect' is alive and well across the world - and shows little sign of slowing.'

Key findings include: