Nearly 22 million people in the U.S.—roughly one in 15 Americans—had wealth upwards of $1 million last year, according to UBS’ 2024 global wealth report.

While that’s down from 22.7 million in 2022, the U.S. was still home to 38% of all millionaires in the world.

It also means the number of U.S. millionaires is more than three times the number in mainland China, which has the second-highest population of millionaires, and is on par with Western Europe and China put together.

The global population of millionaires dipped to 58 million in 2023 from 59.4 million in 2022. But global wealth increased 4.2%, a rebound from the prior year, which marked the first drop in wealth since the 2008 financial crisis.

Amid high interest rates and inflation that hampered economic growth, global wealth dropped 3% in 2022, and 3.5 million people fell out of millionaire status.

“The dip we saw in global wealth in 2022 appears to have been just a blip,” the latest UBS report said. “Wealth’s already bounced back–in line with the long-term trend we’ve identified.

The coming years are anticipated to see further gains. By 2028, UBS expects the number of millionaires to grow in 52 of the 56 markets sampled in the report. Taiwan was expected to lead the world in growth (47%), largely thanks to its microchip industry, which will play an important role in artificial intelligence in the coming years.

In the U.S., the millionaire population is expected to grow more moderately—16% to 25.4 million by 2028. But a gain that large would be more than enough to stretch the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

In China, the number of people with wealth over $1 million is expected to grow 8% to 6.5 million by 2028, while Japan is expected to surpass its neighbor by then to take the second spot on the list.

The UK, which currently ranks third on the global millionaires list, is actually predicted to see that population plummet by 17% in the next four years, in large part due to recent changes in its tax policy for non-domiciled residents. The recent Labour party victory is also expected to bring a higher capital gains tax.

“As most asset classes have seen their value rise over the past few years, the sheer effect of steady economic growth is instrumental in the increase in USD millionaires,” UBS said. “This applies to the past as much as it does to projections into the future.”

As a note, banks will always home equity when calculating net worth, not just liquid investments. The percent of people who could theoretically spend $1M today without going into debt is lower.

  • gay_king_prince_charles [she/her, he/him]
    ·
    3 months ago

    I'd wager a large majority of those people are millionaires solely because they own a house. A good portion of them still might go into severe debt over a medical emergency.

    • Dingus_Khan [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      3 months ago

      Also you still count as a "homeowner" if you have a mortgage. So some of those people could miss three payments and be homeless and assestless

    • curmudgeonthefrog [he/him]
      ·
      3 months ago

      I'd also bet these were homebuyers from sometime before the 2000s and their home grew in value. Americans (even college educated ones) might bring in 1-2 million dollars after working for their whole lives: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/education-earnings.html

      Of course this doesn't count for spending that money to actually live and not just purchase housing.