America Has The Most Millionaires, But It's Far From The Wealthiest

Being a millionaire is more common in the US than any other country, but it also means considerably less.

Photo by Camille Airvault on Unsplash

Global personal wealth grew by more than 10% in 2025, but growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa all outgrew the U.S. As the US Dollar depreciated, wealth in other places grew in comparison. "Wealthy" in the West, including the US, now tends to be $5 Million and up. Being a "millionaire" is no longer as impressive as it used to be - UBS now call them "everyday millionaires (EMILLIs)" with assets between $1M and $5M.

The U.S. leads the world by a wide margin in the number of millionaires- Emillis and their bigger siblings - who call it home, with more than 23 million, over four times China’s roughly 5 million. The country’s business-friendly environment, deep capital markets, and strong culture of entrepreneurship have helped create significant opportunities for individuals to build wealth through business ownership and investing. [In the case of US Emillis, real estate can account for most or all.] That said, the chart is not shown to scale, and several smaller countries have remarkably high millionaire populations relative to their size. 

Source: UBS Global Wealth Report 2026

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Ed note: More than 550 US cities now have average home values of $1 million or more. In 45% of those, even starter homes cost $1 million.

Disclaimer:

The graph was produced by Lucas Juery, CFA, CFPⓇ and is not intended to provide financial advice.

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