Knight Frank’s 20th edition of The Wealth Report sets out a compelling parallel for the world facing private investors, since it was first published in 2007.
The relative stability of the intervening decades – defined by low inflation, plentiful liquidity, and deepening globalisation – has given way to a more volatile and unpredictable order. The Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and conflict in Iran, have exposed structural weaknesses in the global economy.
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The Wealth Report’s editor, Liam Bailey, points towards Inflation’s continued persistence, supply chains have fragmented, and central banks are navigating an increasingly difficult balance between containing price pressures, supporting growth, and managing record levels of public debt.
Cutting across all of this is the tension between technology’s potentially deflationary effects and the inflationary pressures generated by geopolitical friction and fiscal strain.
Against this backdrop, the Wealth Report draws on its broadest body of research to date – spanning an updated global Wealth Sizing Model, prime real estate market forecasts, family office strategy, vineyard investment, and the trajectory of luxury asset prices.
The goal is to offer private investors a workable framework for the current moment. Transactions can stall quickly, risk appetite can contract, and pricing can reprice sharply – but complexity also creates opportunity.
Bailey stresses this edition identifies areas of resilience across markets, sectors, and strategies, alongside emerging opportunities in niche real estate and evolving luxury demand. In an era of heightened uncertainty, the challenge for wealth holders is no longer growth alone, but the intelligent preservation, positioning, and deployment of capital.
1. Global wealth continues to grow
Knight Frank say their Wealth Sizing Model reveals the extraordinary pace of global wealth creation, with 89 people crossing the US $30 million threshold every day for the past five years, the global UHNWI population reached 713,626 in 2026. The US firmly dominates this expansion, claiming 41% of all newly minted UHNWIs, while dynamic growth in India and China continues to act as a secondary engine reshaping the global wealth landscape.
2. Plutonomy remains intact
First highlighted in the Wealth Report’s inaugural edition, plutonomy, an economic model where the ultra-wealthy command a disproportionate share of global wealth, remains intact. Driven by technology and the financialisation of economies, the outsized economic influence of wealth has only deepened. This accumulation of capital continues to reshape global luxury and prime real estate, even as it faces mounting political pushback.
3. The reimagined family office
The world’s 10,000 family offices are evolving into highly professionalised investment platforms. Moving beyond capital preservation, they are recruiting in-house specialists, pursuing co-investment opportunities and targeting value-add real estate. Some are also embracing leaner, tech-enabled structures, allowing them to navigate complex markets and deploy capital efficiently across multiple global hubs.
4. Prime is on the rise
Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index (PIRI 100) recorded a 3.2% average rise in global luxury residential prices in 2025, outperforming broader mainstream housing markets. The Middle East led with a 9.4% surge, heavily driven by Dubai’s 25.1% growth. Other astounding individual performances included Tokyo’s 58.5% spike. The Wealth Report 2026 points to future growth markets, including Mumbai, Brisbane and Miami – yes, there’s room for more growth in Florida.
5. Structural forces at work
Several powerful structural forces are currently shaping global prime residential markets. Accelerating wealth creation continues to provide some insulation for luxury properties from broader economic volatility. Simultaneously, rising wealth taxes and political rhetoric are triggering unprecedented ultra-mobility, resulting in a “dip-in, dip-out” lifestyle. This demand, coupled with a chronic scarcity of turnkey homes, is driving up values and boosting the branded residence sector.
6. Commercial real estate diversifies
Investors continue to diversify into fascinating new sectors. Energy-hungry data centres are becoming critical infrastructure plays, driven by the relentless AI boom. Simultaneously, climate shifts and changing consumer tastes are radically reshaping the global vineyard market. Investors are also exploring technological frontiers, where AI could, finally, be poised to unlock blockchain’s potential for property transactions, and “space in space” satellite infrastructure is actively protecting earthly real estate assets.
7. Luxury stabilises
The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII) stabilised in 2025, closing down just 0.4% as the market found its footing following a prolonged correction. While Impressionist art and watches posted solid gains, buyers have generally remained highly disciplined. New investment sectors are gaining traction, including vintage haute couture, rare fossils and fractional ownership platforms, which are successfully opening up luxury collectibles to a passionate, younger demographic of investors.
8. The transformation economy
