UBS published its Global Wealth Report 2025 on June 18, showing global wealth grew 4.6% in 2024. For the yachting industry, the number confirms a favorable backdrop: Brazil now counts roughly 433,000 millionaires and 4,218 UHNW individuals, the largest pool in Latin America and a growing base for both domestic boat rental and international charter.
Contents
- What UBS published
- The Brazilian UHNW profile
- The wealth transfer ahead
- From a Brazilian speedboat to a Mediterranean charter
- What it changes in practice for a Brazilian traveler
- FAQ
What UBS Published
UBS's Global Wealth Report 2025, released June 18, recorded global wealth growth of 4.6% in 2024, the report's reference year. That kind of macro figure rarely gets quoted outside private-banking circles, but it underwrites, at the margin, demand for high-value discretionary goods: second homes, private aviation, and leisure boats, from a weekend outing to a full week of superyacht charter.
For the yachting industry specifically, the UBS report is not a sales indicator, it is a signal of staying power: when global wealth grows steadily, the top of the pyramid — the group that decides, year after year, whether to upgrade a boat, expand a season's budget, or book a first week of European charter — tends to hold or increase discretionary spending. The full report is available on UBS's official site. For readers outside Brazil, it is worth noting that Brazilian buyers increasingly show up on both ends of the yachting spectrum: renting boats at home and chartering superyachts abroad.
The Brazilian UHNW Profile
Within that global picture, Brazil holds a specific position: international private-wealth rankings place the country at roughly 433,000 millionaires and approximately 4,218 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNW, net worth above US$30 million) in 2025 — Latin America's largest such pool and one of the world's 20 largest. That layer underwrites both the recurring rental of speedboats and yachts at Brazilian destinations such as Angra dos Reis, Búzios and Florianópolis, and the country's growing appetite for superyacht charter weeks in Europe.
The relative size of that group matters more than the headline count. A typical Brazilian UHNW traveler already visits Europe during the northern-hemisphere summer, already knows marinas such as Monaco's Port Hercule or the Sardinian coastline, and increasingly trades a luxury hotel package for a week on board — a shift covered in detail in our guide to how the Mediterranean summer charter season actually works.
The Wealth Transfer Ahead
The other figure relevant to the medium term is generational wealth transfer: industry estimates put roughly US$9 trillion moving between generations in Brazil over the next two decades, the world's third-largest such transfer after the United States and China. That incoming generation of heirs tends to be younger, more digital and more experience-driven than the one before it, which in consumption terms favors travel and lived experience over the accumulation of fixed assets.
Forecasts also point to Brazil's millionaire count climbing to a range of 464,000 to 470,000 by 2028, an increase of roughly 22% in four years. If that trajectory holds, the addressable market for both Brazilian boat rental and international charter grows right along with it.
| Indicator (Brazil) | 2025 | 2028 forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Millionaires (net worth in USD) | ~433,000 | ~464,000-470,000 |
| UHNW (above US$30 million) | ~4,218 | trending higher |
| Rank in Latin America | 1st | 1st |
| Approximate global rank | ~19th | trending higher |
From a Brazilian Speedboat to a Mediterranean Charter
That wealth growth does not translate the same way at every link of the yachting chain. In Brazil, it underpins the base of the market: daily speedboat and yacht rental in destinations such as Rio de Janeiro, Angra dos Reis and Paraty, a segment Voguer serves directly through the voguer.com.br marketplace. At the top of the pyramid, that same wealth growth feeds demand for full weeks of superyacht charter in the Mediterranean — an entry point that starts around €100,000 per week in the summer season, on yachts and itineraries operated through Voguer Yachts.
The bridge between the two worlds is precisely this rising Brazilian client base: the same profile renting a speedboat in Búzios or Ilhabela today is, over a few years, often the one who starts considering a chartered week on the French Riviera or in Sardinia. The growth in Brazilian recreational-boat exports in the first half of 2025, covered in an earlier report, points to the same underlying trend: more people entering — and staying in — the boating world, at multiple points on the spending ladder.
What It Changes in Practice for a Brazilian Traveler
For anyone in Brazil planning to rent a speedboat later in 2025, a rising global wealth report does not move the daily rate in the short term — prices still follow the ranges set by region, boat class and operator, with no direct link to international wealth reports. What the Global Wealth Report 2025 signals instead is a structural trend: more Brazilian families entering the spending bracket that includes speedboats, yachts and, eventually, international charter, year after year.
In practice, that reinforces advice that already holds true today: book ahead. In both domestic rental and superyacht charter, availability on peak dates — the Brazilian summer between December and February, the European summer between June and August — tends to tighten as the base of clients with real purchasing power keeps growing, not the other way around.
FAQ
What did UBS report in the Global Wealth Report 2025? UBS published its Global Wealth Report 2025 on June 18, 2025, showing global wealth grew 4.6% in 2024. The report is an annual private-wealth benchmark and does not forecast sales for any specific industry, yachting included.
How many millionaires does Brazil have in 2025? Private-wealth surveys place Brazil at roughly 433,000 millionaires and approximately 4,218 UHNW individuals (net worth above US$30 million) in 2025, the largest such pool in Latin America and one of the world's 20 largest in absolute terms.
Is Brazil's wealth growth expected to continue? Industry forecasts point to Brazil's millionaire count rising to between 464,000 and 470,000 by 2028, up roughly 22% in four years, alongside an estimated US$9 trillion in generational wealth transfer over the next two decades.
Does this wealth growth change speedboat rental prices in Brazil? Not directly. Daily rates still follow ranges set by region, boat size and season, with no direct link to international wealth reports. The effect is indirect: more families entering the spending bracket that includes speedboats and yachts over time.
Who is the Brazilian UHNW traveler chartering a yacht in Europe? Typically someone who already visits Europe during the northern summer and now replaces part of a hotel-based itinerary with a week aboard a chartered yacht, with an entry point around €100,000 per week in summer season, in destinations such as the French Riviera and Sardinia.
What is the difference between a millionaire and a UHNW individual? "Millionaire" usually refers to anyone with net worth above US$1 million. "UHNW" (ultra-high-net-worth) is a narrower band, generally above US$30 million in net worth — the group most associated with buying or chartering superyachts.
Why do younger heirs matter for the yacht market? Because the generation receiving Brazil's wealth transfer over the next twenty years tends to be more digital and more experience-driven than the one before it, favoring spending on travel and lived experience — a category that includes charter and boat rental — over pure accumulation of fixed assets.
Following the Yacht Market
Voguer continues tracking the wealth and consumption indicators shaping demand for boat rental in Brazil and superyacht charter in Europe, from UBS's annual report to Brazil's own boatbuilding export numbers.
Related coverage: Brazil Exports 559 Boats in the First Half of 2025 · The Mediterranean Season Opens: How Summer Charter Really Works · Feadship Floats Out the 100-Meter Project 824 · How Much to Rent a Speedboat in Brazil in 2025
Marketplace: Voguer · Voguer Yachts