Nearly one million people worldwide became millionaires in 2025, as total personal wealth globally rose by 10.8 percent last year, according to the Swiss bank UBS in its annual Global Wealth Report published on Tuesday. The strong growth was driven by robust financial markets, creating more millionaires than ever before across all regions.
Wealth Growth Accelerates
Total personal wealth globally rose by 10.8 percent in 2025, up from 4.6 percent in 2024 and 4.2 percent in 2023, UBS found. The United States accounted for almost half of this growth, with over 440,000 people becoming new US dollar millionaires. Wealth in US dollar terms grew disproportionately quickly in Europe, largely due to the depreciation of the dollar compared to the euro last year.
Rising Inequality
While average wealth rose, inequality has deepened since 2020, UBS said. Median wealth, which better reflects the middle of the scale, declined in most countries, highlighting a growing divide between the wealthiest and the broader population. The bank analyzed 56 markets it estimates to represent over 92 percent of the world's wealth.
“There were more millionaires than ever, everywhere in 2025,” the bank stated, underscoring the widespread nature of the wealth surge. However, the decline in median wealth in most countries suggests that the benefits of this growth were not evenly distributed.
Regional Breakdown
In the United States, the number of millionaires increased by over 440,000, contributing nearly half of the global increase. Europe also saw significant growth in dollar-denominated wealth due to currency effects. The report did not provide specific figures for other regions but noted that millionaire numbers rose globally.
UBS’s findings highlight the uneven recovery in wealth since the pandemic, with the rich getting richer while the middle class in many nations saw their wealth stagnate or decline. The report covers the period through 2025 and is based on data from 56 markets representing the vast majority of global wealth.
