China Family Trusts Surge Past $147 Billion as Wealth Transfers Rise

China’s family trust market approached 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) in 2025, up from approximately 650 billion yuan in 2024, according to UBS (China) Ltd., marking a roughly 54% year-on-year surge driven by first-generation entrepreneurs preparing to pass their fortunes to the next generation.

The rapid growth reflects a fundamental shift in wealth planning among China’s ultra-rich, who are increasingly moving beyond traditional inheritance methods such as insurance policies and property purchases toward structured trust arrangements, according to Yang Dexing, president of UBS (China) Ltd.

“Demand for wealth-succession tools among China’s ultra-rich is accelerating,” Yang said in comments reported by Caixin Global.

The Rise of Family Trusts in China

Family trusts remain a relatively new concept in China. Regulatory clarity only began improving in 2018, when the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued new rules clarifying the legal framework for these instruments. Prior to this, most wealth transfer was conducted through informal means.

According to a joint report from China Merchants Bank and Bain & Co., among China’s high-net-worth individuals who have begun estate planning — approximately 73% of those surveyed — most still rely on traditional methods like insurance or property. The adoption of complex family trusts, while growing rapidly, remains limited.

China’s broader trust industry has also been rebounding strongly. By the end of 2024, total trust industry assets reached 29.56 trillion yuan, a 23.58% increase year-on-year, and grew further to 32.43 trillion yuan by mid-2025.

A Generation in Transition

The surge in family trusts is being driven by China’s first generation of wealthy entrepreneurs, who emerged following the economic reforms of the 1980s. These entrepreneurs are now aging and beginning to plan for the transfer of their wealth — a phenomenon unprecedented in modern Chinese history.

According to Forbes, mainland China’s billionaires are predominantly self-made, with 98% having built their own fortunes — the highest proportion among all key regions globally. Eva Lee, head of Greater China Equities at UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Office, noted that “the surveyed billionaires are holding the first generation of wealth.”

Mainland China added 70 new billionaires in 2025, bringing the total to 470, while the country’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals added $321.4 billion in wealth over the same period.

A Global Wealth Transfer Underway

The Chinese trend is part of a broader global phenomenon. UBS’s Billionaire Ambitions Report found that 91 heirs globally inherited a record $297.8 billion in 2025 — 36% more than in 2024 — despite fewer people inheriting overall. Some 860 multi-generational billionaires now oversee $4.7 trillion in assets.

Billionaires are estimated to transfer approximately $6.9 trillion globally by 2040, with at least $5.9 trillion set to be passed to children. Heirs in mainland China and Hong Kong are projected to inherit at least $315.7 billion by that date.

Family Offices Pivot Toward Asia

In a related development, UBS’s Global Family Office Report 2026, which surveyed 307 family offices across more than 30 markets with an average net worth of $2.7 billion, found that family offices are increasingly diversifying away from US assets toward Asia Pacific, Greater China, and Western Europe.

Benjamin Cavalli, head of Strategic Clients & Global Connectivity at UBS Global Wealth Management, said the report shows that “family offices continue to adjust portfolios in measured ways — diversifying across assets, currencies and regions, while maintaining exposure to long-term themes such as artificial intelligence with greater selectivity.”

According to the South China Morning Post, 60% of family offices plan changes to their strategic asset allocation in the next 12 months, the highest level recorded by UBS to date. Sixty-five percent expect confidence in the US dollar’s reserve status to weaken, driving broader adoption of multi-currency frameworks.

Implications and Outlook

The growth of family trusts carries significant implications for China’s economy. Trust structures that separate ownership from management could professionalize family businesses and improve corporate governance. Large-scale wealth transfers may also reshape investment patterns, as younger heirs potentially exhibit different risk appetites than their parents.

However, the trend also raises questions about wealth concentration and social mobility in a country that historically championed equality. The Economist has described China as wrestling with a “new inheritocracy,” noting that first-generation entrepreneurs are preparing to pass on approximately $2.1 trillion to heirs.

Looking ahead, UBS recommends that wealthy families diversify across geographies and asset classes, noting that trust structures can separate ownership from management to ease family-business succession. As regulatory frameworks continue to evolve and awareness grows, the adoption of family trusts in China is expected to accelerate further, with significant growth potential remaining given that only a fraction of high-net-worth individuals currently use these instruments.