A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

The ranks of the world's billionaires hit a record 3,795 people in 2025 as the artificial intelligence boom turbocharged wealth creation across the globe, according to a recent report published by Altrata.

That finding marks an 8.2% uptick in billionaire headcount, the largest annual jump in five years, per the wealth intelligence firm. The combined wealth of the world's billionaires surged by 12.8% to a record $15.1 trillion last year, it found.

Altrata identified 150 publicly listed companies that contributed the most to billionaire wealth. Firms that invested at least $30 million in AI over the past five years outperformed those that did not by 23% in market capitalization growth from 2024 through 2025, Altrata said.

Wall Street's AI fervor also contributed to the widening wealth gap in the three-comma club, according to Maya Imberg, head of thought leadership and analytics at Altrata.

The report identified 29 "superbillionaires" — individuals worth more than $50 billion — with a combined net worth of $4.1 trillion, or 27% of all billionaire wealth. In 2017, per the firm's estimate, there were only 10 superbillonaires, who represented 7.2% of all billionaire wealth.