What’s Worrying Billionaires The Most In 2026?

This infographic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, highlights the factors most likely to negatively impact the global market environment over the next 12 months, based on responses from billionaires across regions.

The data for this visualization comes from the UBS Billionaire Survey 2025.

Trade and Geopolitics Dominate Concerns

Tariffs rank as the top concern overall, cited by 66% of respondents. Close behind, 63% of billionaires point to major geopolitical conflict as a key risk, underscoring fears around wars, regional instability, and great-power rivalry.

Policy uncertainty is the third-largest concern, flagged by 59% of respondents. Meanwhile, 44% of billionaires remain worried about higher inflation, indicating that price stability is still not taken for granted after years of elevated inflation across major economies.

Regional Differences Reveal Uneven Risk Exposure

While global results show common themes, regional differences stand out.

In Asia-Pacific, 75% of billionaires cite tariffs as their biggest concern, reflecting the region’s deep integration into global supply chains and export-driven growth models.

Meanwhile in the Americas, 70% of respondents are most worried about higher inflation or major geopolitical conflict.

Lower-Ranked but Persistent Threats

Concerns such as debt crises (34%), higher taxes (28%), and global recessions (27%) still rank meaningfully, though below headline geopolitical risks.

Interestingly, technological disruptions (15%) and climate change (14%) appear lower on the list, suggesting that billionaires may view these as longer-term or more manageable challenges compared to immediate political and economic shocks.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out How Balanced Is Economic Growth Within Countries? on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.