Wealthy Gen Z collectors spend more on art than older buyers, report shows

Wealthy Gen Z collectors spend far more on ​fine art than purchasers from any ​other generation, according to a report ‌published on ​Thursday by Art Basel and Swiss bank UBS. A survey of 3,100 wealthy buyers from across 10 major markets showed individuals from ‌Gen Z - the youngest adult generation - spent more than twice as much on artworks as those from older generations during 2025 and the first half of this year.

The study, which defined Gen ‌Z as people aged between 20 and 29, showed the second-biggest spenders were Baby ‌Boomers in the 62 to 80 age bracket. Millennials (aged 30 to 45) were next, with wealthy Gen X respondents (aged 46 to 61) the most frugal in their art spending. On average, the individual Gen Z collectors polled spent $347,000 ⁠on ​fine art last year, ⁠compared to just $79,000 among their Gen X counterparts. Some 40% of the Gen Z respondents cited the influence of ⁠family as their primary route into collecting.

Still, tastes hold. Younger collectors continue to favour traditional categories such as ​painting and sculpture, Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in ⁠the report.

"Some aesthetic preferences remain more consistent across generations than is often assumed," Donovan said. The survey also found ⁠that ​almost half the respondents gave preference to an artwork's uniqueness and rarity over owning something admired by experts or collectors.

The respondents were high-net-worth individuals, which the survey defined as people ⁠with a net worth, excluding real estate and private business assets, of over $1 million in ⁠2026. The report also highlighted ⁠rising usage of AI tools for research purchases, as the number of collectors using them has increased from 4% in 2024 to 22% ‌now.