Where The Super-Rich Inherit Their Wealth

Many billionaires started out from scratch, making their vast fortunes through the creation of massive business empires. In some countries, however, super-rich individuals are far more likely to be born into wealth. Austria is one such example where about half of ultra high net worth individuals inherited their fortune according to a report from Jonathan Wai of Duke University and David Lincoln of Wealth-X.

The situation is different in the United Kingdom and the United States where most wealthy individuals make their money without familial assistance. In Russia, where oil has produced countless billionaires since the collapse of communism, inheritance is even rarer with only 1.3 percent of rich individuals born into wealth.