The ranks of US millionaires grew rapidly in 2024.
Each year, UBS releases a comprehensive analysis of household wealth across the globe, and its latest report shows America’s wealth boom was particularly pronounced last year relative to the rest of the world.
While the report notes that the number of US millionaires increased by only 1.5%, nearly 380,000 people were made new members of the seven-figure club.
“Given the size of the American millionaire population, this translates into an additional 379,000 such individuals within a single year — or over a thousand a day — weekends included.”
By contrast, nations such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates boast what look like high percentages of new millionaires, with rates of 8.4% and 5.4% last year. However, as UBS adds that those numbers amount to 7,000 and 13,000 new millionaires, a fraction compared to the US.
With US inflation gradually easing and the Federal Reserve implementing multiple interest rate cuts, conditions were ripe for new wealth creation. The S&P 500 gained 25% last year, a year after gaining 26% in 2023.
Yet, despite its high growth rate, the US can’t claim the highest density of millionaires per capita. Switzerland and Luxembourg have claimed that honor, UBS said.
The US also reported more new millionaires than mainland China, which minted more than 386 millionaires per day last year, reaching 141,000 in total. Meanwhile, Japan saw its own millionaire rate fall 1.2% for the year, translating to 33,000 fewer people in that category.
“Some markets display surprisingly high levels of wealth in relation to their average salaries, while others punch below their weight in wealth, in spite of comparatively high incomes,” the report’s authors note.”
They add that in the coming five years, they predict that the US and China will prove to be the primary wealth drivers globally.
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