Released during the whirlwind weeks of market activity between Frieze London and Art Basel Paris, the latest Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting revealed—and in many ways confirmed—key trends shaping high-net-worth collecting worldwide, offering renewed confidence in the resurgent global art market. After surveying 3,100 millionaire collectors across 10 markets (the U.S., U.K., mainland China, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Brazil and Singapore), this year’s edition of the report focused on female and younger collectors—those expected to inherit much of the forthcoming $83 trillion wealth transfer. At the center of the survey conducted by Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics lies the questions defining today’s art world: What drives the next generation of buyers, and how are their habits evolving?
A cautious yet fluid new era of collecting
Twenty percent of HNWI wealth is now allocated to art, up from 15 percent in 2024. Allocations rose alongside total wealth: UHNWIs with more than $50 million in assets averaged 28 percent. HNWI allocations toward art also increased with time spent collecting—16 percent among those collecting for two years or less, rising to 24 percent among those active for more than 20 years.
Most notably, HNWIs have steadily expanded both their budgets and their commitment to collecting, with average spending in 2024 reaching $438,990 across 14 works. Ten percent of respondents spent more than $500,000, and 7 percent exceeded $1 million in 2024, with similar levels observed in the first half of 2025. The median expenditure in early 2025 ($22,000) nearly matched the full-year 2024 median ($24,000), signaling sustained activity across price segments. Encouragingly for the market’s future, Gen Z collectors reported higher-than-average allocations, at 26 percent.
The survey attributes this to art’s enduring perception as a safe haven during inflation and economic volatility. More than 85 percent of HNWIs viewed it as a more stable investment than stocks, citing its resistance to market swings. Still, its illiquidity and logistical complexities have led cautious collectors to allocate less despite its perceived security. Nonetheless, when it comes to the final decision of what to buy, 70 percent of HNWIs make their choices jointly—with a spouse or partner, or with an expert such as an advisor or dealer.
Diversification and collection size
In 2025, HNWIs owned an average of 47 works, up from 44 in 2024, with most (72 percent) holding fewer than 50 pieces—typically between 25 and 49. Gen Z collectors averaged 37 works, compared to 66 for Boomers. Those active for less than two years held around 36 works, while seasoned collectors with more than 20 years in the market averaged 104. Collection size also increased with wealth, from 39 works among those worth $1-5 million to 52 among UHNWIs.
The data confirmed a more selective and cautious approach to collecting, with a clear shift toward established artists compared to 2024. Still, HNWIs continued to diversify their holdings across career stages. In 2024 and early 2025, 16 percent of works acquired were by new artists—those entering the commercial market without gallery representation (down from 27 percent in 2024); 18 percent were by emerging artists who had exhibited for less than ten years (down from 26 percent); 21 percent were by mid-career artists with established reputations but not yet considered top-tier (versus 22 percent in 2024); and 45 percent were by established or blue-chip artists with strong secondary markets and works regularly selling above $100,000—up sharply from 25 percent the previous year.
Tendencies also varied across local art ecosystems. Acquisitions of new and emerging artists were strongest in Germany (39 percent), Singapore (37 percent) and both Switzerland and France (36 percent), while the lowest shares were recorded in mainland China and Brazil (30 percent each). Mid-career artists saw more consistent representation across regions, peaking in the U.S. and Hong Kong at 23 percent.
Even as HNWIs across generations in 2024-2025 bought more fluidly across mediums and categories, fine art remained central, with 78 percent purchasing works in 2024 and 74 percent in early 2025. Paintings continued to dominate, accounting for 27 percent of total fine art spending and remaining the primary medium for Boomers. Still, tastes are shifting—Gen Z collectors are increasingly drawn to digital and video art, while Millennials are more active in prints, photography and works on paper.
Among new mediums, digital art saw the greatest rise in participation and spending, with more than half (51 percent) of surveyed HNWIs having bought a digital work in 2024-2025. The medium ranked third in overall spending, nearly matching sculptures at 14 percent.
The average share of wealth allocated to art varied by demographic but was highest among younger collectors, including 26 percent for Gen Z—exceeding their older peers. As newer entrants to the market, they also moved faster and bought more actively than collectors who had accumulated art over a lifetime.
It’s no surprise that younger collectors are the most active buyers across categories. Millennials spend on decorative art, design and jewelry—reflecting lifestyle-driven interests—while Gen Z dominates in collectible handbags, sneakers and other luxury assets, with average sneaker spending nearly five times higher than that of other groups.
“Millennials and Gen Z are approaching the market with new behaviors, tastes and modes of engagement, while the rising influence of women collectors and the championing of female artists are markedly impacting the trade,” wrote Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz in the report. He noted that younger collectors are expanding beyond traditional categories into digital, design and lifestyle collectibles, often acquiring works through a growing range of channels. For him, understanding these evolving behaviors is key to helping a fair like Art Basel support galleries and artists, cultivate new audiences and expand the global art ecosystem.
Jewelry and gems led the collectible categories in average expenditure, reaching $63,000, with men spending nearly five times more than women. Men also outspent women on watches, sports assets, wine, whisky and spirits, while women spent more across all other categories.
Women collectors on the rise
Female buyers are grabbing a larger market share, particularly among younger generations. In 2024, they outspent their male peers by an average of 46 percent, led by Millennial and Gen Z collectors—especially in Germany and China, where women spent more than twice as much as men. Overall, the data showed that women outspent men in both the Gen Z and Millennial segments, while the reverse held true for Gen X and Boomers.
Women also tend to collect, support and invest more in works by female artists, consciously helping to close the gender gap—a motivation often central to their collecting. “As wealth continues to shift vertically and horizontally over the coming years, these trends are likely to foster greater balance and diversity in collecting in the future,” McAndrew wrote in the report. Women spent more than men on works by women artists, averaging 47 percent of their total art spending in 2024-2025, compared to 41 percent for men.
According to McAndrew, the findings challenge the stereotype that women are more risk-averse than men, showing that in collecting, they are often more willing to embrace risk and follow their intuition—purchasing across a broader range of nontraditional mediums and actively supporting emerging and lesser-known artists.
While women were equally aware of risk (and showed a similar level of risk aversion as men), they still viewed buying the work of unknown artists as a risk worth taking. Women collectors were more open to acquiring newly discovered artists (69 percent) than men (63 percent), with 55 percent reporting they frequently or often purchased works by unknown artists (versus 44 percent of men). Data also revealed that women allocated a smaller share of spending to traditional media, favoring digital art and photography instead.
Women collectors were also the most active participants in art events, averaging 55 events in both 2024 and 2025—ten more than men. While they matched men in attendance at art fairs, auctions and biennales, women attended more museum and gallery exhibitions and were more likely to visit artists’ studios, demonstrating deeper engagement and a more research-driven approach to acquisitions, commissions and patronage.
Relationships still matter
As sales increasingly occur across a wider mix of channels, with more transactions taking place beyond the traditional structures of dealers and auction houses, collecting behaviors are evolving. Yet, reinforcing many dealers’ belief that it’s better to focus locally and build community, HNWIs still value personal interaction above all. Galleries and dealers remain the most common buying channels, with 83 percent of respondents reporting purchases through a gallery—in person, online, via social media, or at an art fair.
Forty-three percent of total HNWI art transaction value came through dealers (either directly or at art fairs), down from 60 percent in 2023 but closer to the 46 percent recorded in 2022. Dealers remained the most preferred sales channel in 2025 (30 percent preferred buying directly from a dealer and 15 percent at art fairs), followed by direct purchases from artists (20 percent). This trend held steady across generations—except among Boomers, who favored auctions.
Spending through dealers continued to dominate across regions. Excluding art fairs, direct dealer sales ranged from 22 percent in Brazil to 30 percent in the U.S. Brazil led in art fair spending at 18 percent, while Japan recorded the lowest share at 14 percent. Combined dealer and fair spending remained broadly consistent across generations, except for Boomers, who allocated less than a third through these channels and leaned more heavily on auctions. Gender differences were modest, though women spent slightly more through dealers (44 percent versus 41 percent for men), including a 2 percent higher share at art fairs (17 percent).
Participation and spending at auction declined, with about half (49 percent) of surveyed HNWIs making a purchase. Meanwhile, the data showed an art circuit fully back in motion, as HNWIs attended an average of 48 art-related events in 2024—a figure surpassing pre-pandemic levels—with women participating more than men and planning even greater attendance in 2025.
Artist studio visits, however, are on the rise as collectors increasingly seek genuine, personal connections that strengthen their commitment to the artists they support. Direct sales from artists have become an increasingly common acquisition channel, now ranking second overall and accounting for 20 percent of total purchases—more than double last year’s share—with women allocating a larger portion than men. This marks one of the most significant jumps across recent surveys: 63 percent of HNWIs reported buying directly from artists in 2025, up from 27 percent in 2023 and 43 percent in 2022. The most common form of access was through studio visits (43 percent), followed by commissioned works (37 percent, up from 15 percent in 2023) and direct purchases via Instagram (35 percent), as collectors pursue more personal and authentic relationships with the artists they support.
New channels of influence
Despite widespread complaints of “fair fatigue” after the Frieze London/Art Basel Paris marathon, nearly all respondents (96 percent) still plan to attend art events in 2026, with younger collectors showing the strongest intent to increase their participation. Regionally, the largest growth was reported in Brazil (69 percent) and the U.S. (65 percent), while Japan and mainland China showed the lowest levels of increase. Acquisitions at fairs also rose sharply, accounting for 37 percent of total purchases in 2024—21 percent at live events and 16 percent via online viewing rooms—more than double the 16 percent recorded in 2023.
Collectors are also turning their attention back to local events (54 percent local). While gallery exhibitions were evenly divided between local and overseas events in 2023, the latest data shows a clear swing toward local engagement, rising to 57 percent in 2024-2025.
At the same time, the flow of information guiding the buying process is shifting, particularly among younger collectors. Gen Z and Millennial buyers are more likely than Gen X to act on recommendations from online art platforms, art publications, critics, or the press, with Instagram emerging as the most influential source among Millennials.
Boomers (39 percent) and Gen X (29 percent) were the most likely to rely on advice from family and friends. Marital status also influenced whether this channel was used—though more for men than women. Married men were more likely to seek family advice (28 percent) than single men (23 percent), a higher rate than both married women (25 percent) and single women (20 percent).
Legacy and estate planning trends
As the great generational wealth transfer continues—with more than $83 trillion expected to pass between generations in the coming decades, according to UBS—it’s unsurprising that inheritance plays a key role in collecting.
Overall, 84 percent of surveyed HNWIs owned works inherited or gifted from family or friends and 67 percent kept at least some of them. Most notably, nearly 90 percent of Gen Z collectors who inherited works retained them, highlighting both the influence of family tradition in shaping collections and the enduring role of inheritance in carrying those legacies forward.
The survey indicates that inheritance typically serves as a neutral starting point rather than a defining force in collecting strategies. Among collectors motivated by family and tradition, inherited works accounted for 33 percent of their collections by value—slightly higher than the 31 percent reported by financially driven collectors.
Reflecting demographic and historical differences across countries, regional variations were significant. The share of inherited works by value was highest among collectors in Switzerland (44 percent), followed by above-average levels in the U.S. (38 percent). In contrast, Japan (21 percent) and the U.K. (24 percent) reported some of the lowest proportions. While fewer respondents in mainland China said they had inherited art, those who did reported that such works made up a substantial 30 percent of their collection’s value. Across all regions, inherited pieces represented more than 20 percent of collections by both value and volume.
Looking ahead, about 80 percent of collectors plan to pass their collections to their children or partners, while 70 percent hope to donate works to museums or charities. This pattern was consistent across age, wealth and region, though the likelihood of having formal plans increased predictably with age and marital status.
Selling, however, is not a priority. Collectors tend to hold onto their prized works during uncertain times—only 25 percent plan to sell, down sharply from 55 percent in 2024. Instead, 40 percent of HNWIs intend to buy more art over the next 12 months, suggesting that the renewed momentum seen in London and Paris may continue to build. Selling intentions easing to 25 percent (from 55 percent in 2024) points to greater market stability, while a quarter of respondents also plan to donate works, reinforcing the broader shift toward philanthropy. Women collectors were notably more inclined to donate, with 75 percent expressing plans to give works to museums and charities, compared to 64 percent of men—a gap that widens beyond the sphere of immediate family.
Amid global uncertainty and rapid change, collectors’ top concerns remain familiar: cross-border trade barriers, market volatility, transparency, legal exposure and safeguarding personal data when buying online. Yet the survey reflects the cautious optimism coursing through this season’s fairs and European auctions, with strong expectations for continued momentum in New York’s marquee sales and a confident finish in Miami. Most HNWIs remain upbeat about the market’s direction—84 percent are optimistic about performance through the remainder of 2025 (down slightly from 91 percent in mid-2024), and 81 percent express confidence in the outlook for the year ahead.
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