According to UBS’s 2024 World Wealth Report, about 22 million people in the United States (roughly 1 in 15 Americans) had assets of $1 million or more last year.
The United States is still home to 38% of the world’s billionaires, although that’s down from 22.7 million in 2022.
This also means that the number of billionaires in the United States is more than three times the number in mainland China, which has the second-largest population of billionaires, and equivalent to the number in Western Europe and China combined. .
The world’s billionaire population decreased from 59.4 million in 2022 to 58 million in 2023. However, global wealth increased by 4.2%, a rebound from the previous year and the first decline in wealth since the 2008 financial crisis.
Global wealth will fall by 3% in 2022, and 3.5 million people will fall from billionaire status, as high interest rates and inflation hamper economic growth.
“The decline in global wealth seen in 2022 appears to have been only temporary,” says UBS’s latest report. “Wealth is already recovering, consistent with the long-term trends we have identified.
Further gains are expected in the coming years. By 2028, UBS expects the number of billionaires to increase in 52 of the 56 markets sampled in the report. Taiwan was expected to play an important role in artificial intelligence in the coming years, leading the world in growth rate (47%), mainly thanks to its microchip industry.
In the United States, the billionaire population is expected to grow more slowly, increasing by 16% to 25.4 million by 2028. But such a large increase would be more than enough to widen the gap between the United States and the rest of the world.
In China, the number of people with assets over $1 million is expected to increase by 8% to 6.5 million by 2028, with Japan expected to surpass its neighbor by then and take second place on the list. has been done.
In fact, the UK, currently ranked third in the world’s richest list, is predicted to see its population plummet by 17% over the next four years, largely due to recent tax changes for non-residents. With Labor’s recent victory, capital gains tax is also expected to rise.
“Most asset classes have increased in value over the past few years, and the sheer effect of steady economic growth has contributed to the increase in US dollar millionaires,” UBS said. “This is as true of the past as it is of predictions for the future.”
