There are more millionaires than ever. The US saw 1,200 new ones minted every day last year

The extended bullish nature of world markets has resulted in a big global rise in millionaires. Overall, global personal wealth was up 10.8% last year, more than double the pace seen in 2024 (4.6%) and 2023 (4.2%).

“Global wealth rose for a third consecutive year — and at a notably stronger pace, with average individual wealth increasing at a rate far outstripping global economic growth,” said Robert Karofsky, Co-President UBS Global Wealth Management. “In this environment, disciplined stewardship matters more than ever.”

America created the most millionaires, but not the fastest-growing wealth

While America saw the most new millionaires, the biggest wealth growth took place overseas. Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw an average growth rate of 17.5%. The Americas came in at 8.5%. And the Asia-Pacific region saw wealth growth of 5.9%.

And when broken down by average wealth per adult, it wasn’t the U.S. on top, but Switzerland, which landed at $910,382. (The U.S. was second, followed by Luxembourg.)

Those rankings underscore that having the most millionaires doesn’t necessarily translate into the highest average wealth per person.

In the U.S., the spread of that new wealth hasn’t been across the board. While the average wealth of Americans has climbed nearly 10% since 2020, median wealth (the point between the richest and poorest people) has fallen by nearly 20%.

To put it in perspective, the average wealth in the U.S. last year was $696,277, ranking second in the world. The median wealth, though, was just $58.998, which only ranked 28th.

The gap between average and median wealth suggests that much of the recent wealth growth has accrued to higher-net-worth households, rather than being evenly distributed across the population.