Whether old or new money, those who possess a substantial amount seek to increase it and pass it on to their descendants. While this realization has no novelty value, it is underscored distinctly in the recent Billionaires Report published by UBS last week.

The bank, which has made managing the wealth of an ultra-rich global clientele one of its core tasks, has been annually surveying the world of billionaires since 2015, not only statistically but also qualitatively.

Out of the 2,544 billionaires worldwide with a total wealth of $12 trillion, which were identified in collaboration with consulting firm PwC from current statistics, the bank managed to personally interview 79 families about their expectations, concerns, and goals. Some statements stand out prominently in the survey.

There is great consensus, for example, on what billionaire heirs prefer to do with their wealth: their top priority is to continue increasing it and pass it on to future generations. The fact that the first generation allows itself more freedom in this regard may indicate that inherited wealth also entails an inherited obligation.

Notably, a representative of the founding generation, who was interviewed in the study, is quoted with the following statement: "The main problem with the younger generation is to educate them for diligence. The young consider ambitious goals to be a matter of course, and they believe that this also applies to important business information. However, the founding generation has to bring these things together themselves and make the best of it."

Equally noteworthy is the clarity with which the surveyed billionaires express their views on the most promising business fields in their own companies. The top ranks are almost exclusively occupied by new, digital, or data-driven technologies. This is not coincidental. In the digital economy, many particularly successful business models are based on network effects, promising operators of such networks significant and sustainable competitive advantages.

Monopolies or oligopolistic business models were already used in the founding era of the 19th century to create immense fortunes. One of the most striking examples from this period is the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. His immense wealth is commemorated by the Nobel Prize, which the resourceful chemist and inventor of dynamite established in 1901 through a foundation. Nobel organized his 355 patents in a way that allowed him to earn royalties worldwide, wherever dynamite was manufactured. Monopoly structures have remained the foundation of many billion-dollar fortunes to this day. Nonetheless, the business fields in which lucrative competitive positions can be won have changed significantly since Nobel's time.

A recent example of this was provided by Jacob Wallenberg (pictured above at the Nobel Prize ceremony). He is a representative of the fifth generation of the Swedish industrialist family, who is rumored to have controlled one-third of the Swedish economy for over a century. During a lecture in Zurich on Europe's competitiveness, Wallenberg referenced a quote from his grandfather Marcus. He reportedly convinced his brother in 1946 to sell the family's railroad interests and instead invest in the emerging aviation industry: "Leaving the old for what is coming is the only tradition worth preserving." The portfolio shift initiated by Marcus Wallenberg soon led to the creation of the Scandinavian airline SAS. Over the decades, the methods billionaires use to defend the most lucrative competitive positions of their companies have also evolved. While these methods were relatively contemplative until the 1970s, they became more complex with the onset of major liberalization and accelerated globalization.

Michael Porter, a highly influential American industrial economist and strategy theorist at the time, noted in his seminal work "Competitive Advantage" (Free Press, 1985): "Companies worldwide face lower growth rates, and competitors no longer behave as if the pie is large enough for everyone."

The Harvard professor developed his theory of the five forces with which companies should create a lasting competitive advantage: limit the power of suppliers, prevent new competitors from entering one's own market, avoid substitution of the products, and secure pricing power against consumers. The fact that even Michael Porter's world has since disappeared is evidenced by examples of market dominance he himself cited, such as Heinz, Kodak, or Kmart. These companies are now only a shadow of their former significance or no longer exist. Ten years ago, Rita Gunther McGrath finally relegated the famous Michael Porter to the archives.

The influential professor of management at the Columbia Business School in New York wrote the bestseller "The End of Competitive Advantage" (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). The book argues that in the era of the digital economy and the accompanying new process technologies, it is no longer possible to defend lucrative competitive advantages permanently – unless one innovates the entire business model. Microsoft is considered a particularly successful example of this method. The company shifted its focus under CEO Satya Nadella from shielding its operating system against unwelcome competition to prioritizing customer value through an open system. However, even Microsoft is no longer considered invincible. Therefore, 53% of the surveyed billionaires see the disruptive force of new technologies not only as an opportunity but also as the greatest risk in their ongoing battle to preserve their wealth.