Page 27 - ASSET MANAGER 10 (EN)

• Billionaires from Asia, especially from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, are now challenging the traditional US dominance of technological entrepreneurship.
• America's venture capital funding for start-ups was equal to that of China in 2017, but the Chinese have filed four times more artificial intelligence patents and three times more blockchain and crypto-related pat- ents than their US counterparts have.
Ravi Raju of UBS says, 'Asia's billionaires are young and relentless. They are constantly transforming their compa- nies, developing new business models and shifting rapidly into new sectors. This cohort is overwhelmingly self-made and determined to capitalise on one of history’s greatest moments for new enterprise.'
Globally, self-made billionaires drive innovation
• They have driven 80 % of the 40 main breakthrough innovations over the last 40 years.
• In 2017, a total of 199 entrepreneurs became self- made billionaires, including innovators in the fields of blockchain, peer-to-peer lending, genomics and green energy.
The next generation is the new wealth agenda
• A major wealth transition has begun. There are 701 billionaires over the age of 70, whose wealth will tran-
sition to heirs and philanthropy over the next 20 years, given the statistical probability of the average life ex- pectancy. This is almost 40 % of the current billionaire wealth (USD 3.4 trillion) worldwide.
• Younger billionaires are the driving force behind a growth in philanthropy and sustainable investing, as they use their wealth to create a positive social im- pact. More than one-third (38 %) of family offices are now engaged in sustainable investing, and almost half (45 %) plan to increase their sustainable investments in the next 12 months.
• Young billionaires are also looking to create their own economic value. Nearly two-thirds (62 %) of billion- aires’ sons and daughters who inherited the family business in 2017 sought to become entrepreneurs, compared with 42 % who inherited assets.
PwC's Dr. Marcel Widrig explains: 'Our report reveals how China is currently the leading country for entrepreneurs to create wealth. Nowhere else has the same combination of a huge population, technology innovation and government support. We have also found that Next Gen billionaires are extremely entrepreneurial. Using the advantages of a top- tier university education and a global network, they often create their own new businesses combining latest technol- ogy with sustainability goals.'
The study by UBS and PwC is available at:
www.pwc.ch/billionaires-insights