Western European fortunes are the longest-lived worldwide. Of the fortunes that have been on the Forbes Billionaires lists for at least a quarter of a century, Europe has the highest survival rate, 78%, followed by the US at 73%, according to a new Forbes Insights and Société Générale Private Banking report.
These longest-surviving European fortunes are mostly private (67%) and family-controlled or owned, with the majority (52%) being managed or owned by third and fourth generations, the report says.
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The report entitled "Behind the Staying Power of Wealth Creation in Europe," attributed the staying power of European fortunes to its tastemaker brands and on keeping businesses private and in the family.
Other key findings:
-Europe has expanded its share of the world’s largest fortunes. Over the last 25 years, Europe has increased its share of the number of the world’s biggest fortunes. Europe had the second-highest increase in the number of fortunes, after the Americas, and the second highest increase in the aggregate growth of fortunes held by the wealthiest individuals.
– Europe owes its pace of growth in fortune creation over the last 15 years to emerging European markets. Emerging Europe accounts for 42% of the number of Europe’s largest fortunes, and 39% of wealth held by Europe’s richest individuals.
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By GlobalData– Most recently, Europe has been generating new fortunes at a moderate pace. Europe has generated 26% of the world’s new fortunes over the last two years, behind the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Within Europe, more of the newest fortunes have been generated in Western Europe than in emerging Europe.
The report is based on an exclusive analysis of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Europe, as well as interviews with European industrialists and experts on European wealth creation. The analysis involved the study of Forbes Billionaires data collected over the last 25 years.
