The U.S. gained 1,000 millionaires a day on average in 2024, new report finds
The U.S. saw the fastest growth of its millionaire population of any nation worldwide, according to the investment bank's newly released Global Wealth Report 2025. China came in second, adding around 380 millionaires a day.
The number of "everyday millionaires," or investors with between $1 million and $5 million in assets, is also on the rise globally. The volume of everyday millionaires worldwide has more than quadrupled since 2000 to about 52 million individuals, per UBS.
Real estate values were the largest driver of wealth growth worldwide, the report finds. Those assets make up the largest share of several countries' total wealth, with 53% of Australia's and 42% of the United Kingdom's wealth held in real estate net of mortgages, UBS reports.
In the U.S., however, securities and other financial instruments like stocks account for largest share of Americans' total wealth at 37%. Real estate follows at 30%.
Though many more individuals hit the million-dollar mark in 2024, those gains were likely not across the board.
The top 20% of the wealthiest U.S. households owned 71% of the country's total wealth at the end of September 2024, according to Federal Reserve data. The average net worth among those households was $3.8 million.
The bottom 50% of households, however, hold just over 2% of the nation's total wealth and have about $52,000 in total assets on average, the Fed reports.
What's more, household wealth for Americans at the top of the income distribution spectrum generally grows much faster than that of lower-earning households.
The highest-earning households saw their wealth grow by 147% between 1983 and 2016, Pew Research reported in 2020. Middle-earners' wealth grew by just 13% over the same period, while the lowest-earning households saw their wealth decrease by 8% during that time.
A growing number of investors are also becoming millionaires through their 401(k)s.
Around 544,000 Americans saw their 401(k)s hit a million-dollar value in the third quarter of 2024, according to data from Fidelity. That's nearly a 10% increase in 401(k) millionaires from the previous quarter, the firm reported.
"These all-time highs are probably more attributable to market appreciation than anything else, but if contributions remain robust, that's a good thing," Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner and president and founder of Bone Fide Wealth, told CNBC in 2024.
A 25-year-old who initially deposits $1,000 in their 401(k) and continues to contribute $400 each month would have over $1 million invested by the time they turn 65, assuming an average 7% annual return, according to CNBC Make It calculations.
You can use this calculator to see what it would take for you to reach millionaire status by the time you're ready to retire.
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