From record inheritances to Gulf power plays, 2026 promises to be a year when money talks louder than ever in the cultural arena. Also check out our exhibition picks in Switzerland and what’s to come in the Swiss film world. Inheritances in the eight digits and higher are growing. Economic players jostle on how to tax them – or not. But inheritances certainly create a thriving environment for the arts market. Research by the Swiss bank UBS concluded that the super-rich are inheriting record levels of wealth as they pass down billions of dollars to their children, grandchildren and spouses. Most of the inheritances are expected to come from the US, followed by India, France, Germany and Switzerland. In the Alpine country alone $206 billion (CHF165 billion) will be inherited in the next 15 years, according to the bank. In another UBS study, the 2025 edition of The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting, the focus is on high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), their interests across ...
