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The world’s billionaires have amassed an astonishing $15.1 trillion, and over the next decade, a significant portion of that wealth is expected to begin passing to their heirs. Women and members of Generation X could emerge as the biggest beneficiaries of the largest wealth transfer in history, according to Fortune.

A new report from analytics firm Altrata estimates that by 2035, around 5,000 spouses and adult children of billionaires could inherit a combined $6.6 trillion.

The reason is straightforward: ultra-wealthy families are increasingly transferring assets to the next generation through inheritance, gifts and other forms of intergenerational wealth transfer. And the pool of potential heirs is likely to keep growing: the world is now home to a record 3,795 billionaires.

Billionaires’ Wives Could Be Among the Biggest Winners

Women are expected to play a particularly significant role in the coming wealth transfer. Women currently account for only about 13% of the world’s billionaires, but their share among the spouses of today’s ultra-wealthy men is considerably higher.

According to Altrata, over the next decade, around 1,235 women — roughly 90% of billionaire spouses — could inherit substantial fortunes.

That could gradually reshape the gender balance among the ultra-wealthy. As women gain control over vast pools of capital, their influence could extend well beyond family businesses.

Altrata forecasts an increase in female entrepreneurship, interest in venture capital and demand for specialized wealth-management services. Women billionaires have also traditionally been more active than men in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

The Biggest Heirs Won’t Necessarily Be the Youngest

One of the biggest surprises of this unprecedented wealth transfer could be the role played by Generation X.

Although attention often focuses on younger millennials and members of Generation Z, Gen X is expected to be the largest generation among potential heirs.

According to Altrata, around 23% of billionaire adult children, who are about 48 years old on average, already work alongside their parents in the family’s primary business.

And this isn’t simply about receiving a wire transfer.

Heirs are set to inherit real estate, publicly traded shares, stakes in private companies and investment portfolios. Some will also be expected to take over businesses built by their parents or passed down through multiple generations of the same family.

Heirs Could Change the Rules of the Game

With access to multibillion-dollar fortunes, the next generation of the ultra-wealthy could significantly reshape approaches to investing and philanthropy.

Younger heirs tend to be more digitally savvy, more engaged with climate issues and increasingly interested in so-called impact investing — investments designed to generate both financial returns and measurable social or environmental benefits.

That could potentially create tensions with the previous generation, which built its fortunes in a very different economic and technological era.

$6.6 Trillion in a Rapidly Changing World

This enormous transfer of wealth will take place against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, climate risks, technological upheaval and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

Altrata warns that an increasingly unstable and multipolar world will make preserving fortunes and transferring family businesses more complicated.

But that instability could also create new opportunities.

The heirs will inherit not only money and assets, but also the power to fundamentally change how that capital is invested, spent and used to influence the world.

Over the next decade, trillions of dollars will begin changing hands — and with them, the very map of global wealth could be transformed.

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