Athira Sethu
Kochi, 19 June 2025
The United States created more than 1,000 new millionaires daily in 2024, according to a recent report by UBS, an investment bank. That translates to approximately 379,000 individuals in the U.S. becoming first-time millionaires last year.
This increase in riches happened more quickly in America than in any other nation. In fact, over half of all of the world’s new millionaires in 2024 were American.
Why Did This Occur?
There were some very important reasons that this sudden spike in millionaires took place:
- The United States stock market did well, particularly the S&P 500, which increased by over 23%.
- The American dollar stayed robust and firm throughout the year.
- The overall financial market had a good year, particularly in North America.
The factors, according to UBS, contributed to many Americans rapidly increasing their wealth.
Millionaires Worldwide
Globally, approximately 680,000 individuals became millionaires in 2024.That’s an increase of 1.2% from the previous year.UBS is confident that the trend is not going to stop. They forecast that 5.3 million more individuals will be millionaires across the globe by the year 2029.
Average Wealth and Personal Wealth Growth
Although a lot of individuals are turning into millionaires, Americans do not have as much money. As of the end of 2024, average wealth per adult in the Americas was roughly $312,000. Nevertheless, the world personal wealth increased by 4.6% in 2024. In the Americas, this growth was even more significant—by over 11%.
UBS attributed the fact that the robust equity market and a stable U.S. dollar made a significant contribution to wealth increase in the region.
Where Are Most Millionaires?
In 2024, the Americas had the biggest percentage of the world’s millionaires, approximately 24 million individuals or 40% of the total worldwide. Next was the Asia-Pacific region at 36%, then Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at 25%.
UBS defines wealth as examining all of an individual’s assets, such as money, properties, and investments, then taking off any debt that they owe.
