The number of individuals with investable assets between $1 million and $5 million has more than quadrupled since 2000 to some 52 million globally at the end of 2024, according to the latest global wealth report from UBS.
These "everyday millionaires," in UBS’ parlance, account for some $107 trillion in total wealth, a number that approaches the $119 trillion owned by individuals with more than $5 million in assets.
UBS noted that rising real estate prices and exchange rate effects have largely driven this segment’s growth. The long-term upward trend in the everyday millionaire cohort is visible around the world, despite regional differences.
The number of millionaires rose by 1.2% in 2024, a year-over-year increase of some 684,000 individuals, with the United States adding more than 379,000 new millionaires — more than 1,000 a day.
The UBS report analyzes 56 markets, which are estimated to represent more than 92% of the world’s wealth.
In 2024, global wealth grew by 4.6% after increasing by 4.2% in 2023. The Americas overall accounted for the majority of the increase, more than 11%. A stable U.S. dollar and robust financial markets were key contributors to this growth, UBS said.
Asia/Pacific lagged, with growth rates below 3%, as did Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with less than 0.5% growth.
Over the past 25 years, there has been a marked and consistent increase in wealth all across the world, both overall and in each main region individually. Total wealth has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3.4% since 2000.
During the current decade, the wealth band below $10,000 has ceased to be the most populated one in the sample; it has been overtaken by the next-higher band between $10,000 and $100,000, according to UBS.
The report’s projections for average wealth per adult point to continued growth over the next five years. This expansion will be led by the United States, Greater China, Latin America and Oceania.
Notably, some countries that top the millionaire-population list don't make the top 25 when it comes to average wealth. China, for example, boasts a large number of millionaires but average wealth sits below $90,000 per adult, according to UBS' calculations.
See the accompanying gallery for the 12 countries with the highest number of millionaires, according to UBS. Average and median wealth amounts that did not rank in the top 25 (aside from China) were not available.
This article was first published by ThinkAdvisor.com.
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