Record number of ‘new millionaires’ in 2025, says UBS

Global personal wealth surged in 2025, with a record number of new millionaires, Swiss bank UBS said Tuesday.

Last year saw nearly one million people worldwide become U.S. dollar millionaires -- the equivalent of 2,600 people a day, according to the bank’s estimates.

The United States accounted for almost half of new millionaires in 2025, adding more than 440,000 individuals, followed by China, Japan, Germany, Britain and France, which each count more than two million millionaires in total.

Switzerland’s biggest bank, which is among the world’s largest wealth managers, produces the annual UBS Global Wealth Report, which assesses personal wealth trends.

It covers all financial and non-financial assets, primarily property, minus debts, with asset values converted into dollars.

“The real story is one of continued expansion: more people moving up the wealth ladder,” the report said.

“The gains... point to a world that kept building wealth, deepening its affluent population and extending a long-running upward trend.”

UBS said that in 2025, global personal wealth rose by 10.8 per cent in dollar terms, significantly outpacing growth seen in 2024 (4.6 per cent) and 2023 (4.2 per cent).

Wealth growth was strongest in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at 17.5 per cent -- helped by a weaker dollar -- followed by the Americas at 8.5 per cent. Asia‑Pacific recorded growth of 5.9 per cent.

Over half of global personal wealth remains concentrated in the United States and mainland China combined.

Since 2020, South Korea has led growth in real average wealth per adult across the 56 analysed markets, with gains above 50 per cent. There have been increases above 25 per cent in Croatia, Norway, Latvia, Taiwan and Bulgaria.

1.5% are millionaires

In terms of real average wealth per adult, Switzerland leads the way on US$910,382, followed by the United States (US$696,277), Luxembourg (US$654,732), Hong Kong (US$648,267) and Australia (US$616,306).

The report said 42 per cent of the world population had assets worth less than US$10,000; and 41 per cent have assets worth US$10,000 to US$100,000.

At the top end, 15.3 per cent have net assets worth US$100,000 to US$1,000,000, and in the top bracket, 1.5 per cent have more than a million dollars.

The report noted that being a millionaire did not mean having a million dollars in the bank, with owner-occupied property representing the single biggest asset for most people up to millionaire level. So rising property values were propelling people into millionaire status.

As for billionaires, in 47 markets covered, UBS counted 3,302 in April -- an increase of 383, or 13.1 per cent on the last report.

More than 1,000 live in the United States, with 562 in China and 211 in India.

“We count 18 individuals with wealth situated between US$50 and US$100 billion and a further 19 with assets above US$100 billion, 15 of which are based in the United States,” said UBS.

Nathalie OLOF-ORS, AFP