The art world’s biggest spenders are getting younger and younger. Gen Z, whose oldest members are just 29, outspent every other generation on fine art in 2025 and the first half of this year. That’s according to a newly-released UBS and Art Basel survey of high-net-worth collectors, which found that Gen Z spent more than twice as much on fine art than older generations, while also accounting for nearly half of collectors who bought artwork priced above $1 million.
Average fine art spending for Gen Z respondents also jumped a whopping 19% in a year to $347,460, which is much higher than the average spend among the bank’s wider high-net-worth clientele at $124,265.
But what did Gen Z spend this money on exactly? The survey says they had the broadest taste among the generations, ranging from paintings, sculptures, digital art and luxury collectibles.
According to Matthew Newton, the executive director and head of Art Advisory Americas on the Family Office Solutions team, the Gen Z spending spree is part of the larger phenomenon known as the Great Wealth Transfer, which describes older generations preparing to pass on trillions of dollars to their heirs.
“You have this new generation of people. These are people in their 20s. This is very young in my mind for people who are active in the art market,” Newton told Fortune. “There’s probably a relationship to inheritance that’s reflected in that.”
A family affair
The survey suggests that family connections are especially influential among the youngest collectors. While 28% of all respondents cited family as their primary route into collecting, that share rose to 40% among Gen Z. Nearly 90% of Gen Z collectors who inherited artworks kept them.
The art-related elements of the Great Wealth Transfer are also sparking inter-generational conversations about buying and collecting.
“Increasingly when we’re having a conversation with a first generation collector, in that same meeting, is their children who are gaining interest in this space and they want to become educated in this field,” Newton said.
Demand for these services at UBS has grown so much that the bank created a dedicated role about a year ago: an Art Advisory Specialist on Newton’s team, who helps families navigate how to pass down artwork from one generation to the next.
“And that can be selling strategies, gifting strategies, overlaid with tax considerations as it relates to that family,” Newton added.
Those talks are about more than which paintings, sculptures or collectibles their children want to keep though. “Frankly, in some cases, the size of the collection value can be a very significant percentage of the family’s net worth,” Newton said. “So, it’s important to get these conversations right, not just from a passion side, but really for the overall financial health of the family.”
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