With more people and larger fortunes, the UHNW wealth transfer takes on new complexity
Women’s wealth
Gender is the other axis reshaping the succession conversation.
Women currently make up just 12% of the global ultra-wealthy population, a proportion that has climbed only modestly, from 8.2% in 2016 to roughly 10.2% today. But Altrata’s report forecasts that share will nearly double to 19% by 2040, driven by expanding opportunities for female entrepreneurship, rising executive compensation, and above all the accelerating pace of intergenerational wealth transfers already underway.
Asia currently has the highest share of female ultra-wealthy individuals at 13%, attributed in part to its larger pool of younger, first-generation wealth creators.
The pace of new wealth creation adds further texture to the succession story. The number of centi-millionaires, those with fortunes above 100 million dollars, has nearly doubled over the past decade to more than 117,000 in 2025, up from 60,000 in 2015, driven largely by the technology boom. That expansion is adding a younger, tech-derived layer of wealth even as the broader ultra-wealthy population continues to skew older.
Portfolio composition
Portfolio composition data in the report also points to what advisors may be managing through any transfer. The typical ultra-wealthy individual holds 63% of assets in publicly and privately owned business holdings, reflecting how often this group’s members are founders, chief executives or senior operating leaders rather than passive investors. Liquid assets such as cash and dividends make up close to 29% of the average portfolio, with real estate and luxury holdings accounting for under 10%.
