| Country of Citizenship | Inherited Wealth (Count) | Self-Made Wealth (Count) | Grand Total (Count) | Inherited Wealth (%) | Self-Made Wealth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 4 | 135 | 139 | 3% | 97% |
| China | 14 | 417 | 431 | 3% | 97% |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 51 | 57 | 11% | 89% |
| Czech Republic | 2 | 9 | 11 | 18% | 82% |
| Canada | 17 | 59 | 76 | 22% | 78% |
| Netherlands | 3 | 10 | 13 | 23% | 77% |
| Israel | 10 | 29 | 39 | 26% | 74% |
| United States | 240 | 637 | 877 | 27% | 73% |
| Japan | 13 | 31 | 44 | 30% | 70% |
| Indonesia | 9 | 21 | 30 | 30% | 70% |
| Australia | 15 | 33 | 48 | 31% | 69% |
| Taiwan | 19 | 36 | 55 | 35% | 65% |
| Cyprus | 4 | 7 | 11 | 36% | 64% |
| Hong Kong | 24 | 42 | 66 | 36% | 64% |
| Ireland | 4 | 7 | 11 | 36% | 64% |
| Greece | 6 | 10 | 16 | 38% | 63% |
| Singapore | 17 | 28 | 45 | 38% | 62% |
| Turkey | 13 | 18 | 31 | 42% | 58% |
| Philippines | 7 | 9 | 16 | 44% | 56% |
| Thailand | 10 | 11 | 21 | 48% | 52% |
| Switzerland | 22 | 20 | 42 | 52% | 48% |
| Malaysia | 10 | 9 | 19 | 53% | 47% |
| Norway | 9 | 8 | 17 | 53% | 47% |
| India | 117 | 93 | 210 | 56% | 44% |
| Brazil | 33 | 26 | 59 | 56% | 44% |
| France | 28 | 22 | 50 | 56% | 44% |
| Sweden | 26 | 19 | 45 | 58% | 42% |
| Saudi Arabia | 7 | 5 | 12 | 58% | 42% |
| South Korea | 21 | 15 | 36 | 58% | 42% |
| Italy | 46 | 26 | 72 | 64% | 36% |
| Belgium | 8 | 3 | 11 | 73% | 27% |
| Mexico | 16 | 6 | 22 | 73% | 27% |
| Spain | 26 | 9 | 35 | 74% | 26% |
| Germany | 129 | 42 | 171 | 75% | 25% |
| All | 935 | 1903 | 2838 | 32.95% | 67.05% |
Methodology
The data underlying this analysis was extracted from the Forbes World’s Billionaires List as of June 2025. For each billionaire, we captured their reported net worth, country of citizenship, and primary source of wealth.
Wealth Classification
Each individual was categorized as either Self-Made or Inherited based on the “self-made” attribute published by Forbes. This classification is part of Forbes’ broader self-made scoring system, which ranges from 1 (entirely inherited wealth) to 10 (entirely self-made). For clarity and international comparability, we grouped individuals into a binary classification:
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Self-Made: Scores of 7–10 (those who primarily built their fortune)
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Inherited: Scores of 1–6 (those who inherited some or all of their wealth)
See Forbes’ full explanation of their scoring here: Forbes Self-Made Score Guide
Cross-Verification
To improve classification accuracy, we cross-checked a sample of individual profiles with public biographical sources, company histories, and media coverage. This was done to account for edge cases, such as founders who built businesses from inherited seed capital or billionaires with unclear wealth origins.
Sensitivity and Caveats
There are known limitations with billionaire wealth data. Forbes’ methodology excludes political or royal wealth (e.g. sovereign funds, monarchies), and private asset valuations, especially in emerging markets, can be imprecise. Net worth estimates are also subject to market volatility, meaning year-to-year comparisons can reflect asset price swings rather than underlying changes in wealth structure.
