The world’s billionaires were worth $15.1 trillion last year…and America dominates the ultra-rich.

The number of billionaires in the world will reach a record high of 3,795 people in 2025, driven by a huge boom in artificial intelligence that has fueled global wealth creation, according to a recent Altrata report.

The result represents an 8.2% increase in the number of billionaires, the biggest annual jump in five years, according to a company that specializes in wealth data and analysis. The report also showed that the total wealth of billionaires worldwide grew by 12.8% to a record high of $15.1 trillion last year, according to CNBC.

Ultrata identified 150 companies on the stock market that contributed more to the development of the wealth of billionaires, as companies that invested at least $ 30 million in artificial intelligence in the last five years outperformed their counterparts that did not, by 23% in terms of growth in market value between 2024 and 2025.

Maya Emberg, head of thought leadership and analytics at Ultrata, said Wall Street’s strong enthusiasm for artificial intelligence is also helping to widen the wealth gap among the ultra-wealthy elite, who own billions of dollars in wealth.

The report also looked at the presence of 29 people in the “superbillionaires” category. They are individuals with a net worth of more than $50 billion, with a combined net worth of $4.1 trillion, representing 27% of the total wealth of billionaires.

By contrast, the company estimates that there were only 10 of these super-billionaires in 2017, and they accounted for 7.2% of the total wealth of billionaires.

Emberg said that while the rise of technology stocks has led to historic wealth creation, assets based on AI-related technology stocks may be subject to sharp fluctuations.

“We expect the fortunes of many of the wealthiest billionaires, especially those whose companies focus on technology, to continue to rise and fall as the AI ​​landscape evolves,” he said in an email.

This year has seen massive stock market volatility, including a massive selloff in July that saw the market value of major chip companies drop by $1.3 trillion. For the very rich, these fluctuations translated into massive and rapid gains and losses in the value of paper wealth; For example, Elon Musk lost $18 billion in one day, and Larry Ellison’s fortune dropped by $50 billion in one week, according to Forbes magazine.

Emberg explained: “Market concentration does not necessarily mean the existence of an economic bubble, but there are real risks when investments are concentrated in one main sector (that is the technology sector), specifically in this sector in the field of artificial intelligence.”

According to Ultrata, North America, which has the world’s largest number of billionaires at 1,337, is set to grow by 11.6% through 2025, the fastest rate of any other region. Emberg attributes some of this rapid growth to the United States’ dominance of the private and public technology markets.

The number of billionaires in Europe reached 1,081 people after a 7.9% jump last year, while the number in Asia reached 881 billionaires after a 6.5% increase.

While the enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence was a major factor in boosting the fortunes of billionaires, the report indicated that 2025 was a special and very favorable year in several respects. All of the major asset classes tracked by Ultrata posted positive returns for the year — a record not seen since the pandemic — despite trade war turmoil led by U.S. President Donald Trump.