The Global Count of Millionaires Reached a Record 23.4 Million

Last year, the world recorded 23.4 million millionaires, a historic high, propelled by robust equities market growth despite economic volatility.

The figure increased by 2.6% from 2023. The collective fortune of these millionaires amounted to US$90.47 trillion, reflecting a 4.2% increase, as reported by the information technology services and consulting firm Capgemini.

Growth was predominantly driven by increases in American stock portfolios.

The United States experienced an increase of 562,000 millionaires, representing a 7.6% growth, propelled by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and interest rate decreases that stimulated substantial expansion in the American stock market.

The greatest significant increases occurred among ultra-high-net-worth individuals—defined as those possessing a minimum of US$30 million in investable assets—whose wealth escalated by about 12% in the United States.

India and Japan excelled in the Asia-Pacific area, each achieving a growth rate of 5.6%, resulting in the addition of 20,000 and 210,000 millionaires, respectively.

Conversely, China's growth was negative, as the high net-worth population decreased by 1%.

Kris Bitterly, leader of Citi Global Wealth at Work, underscored that more engagement with alternative investments may be vital for future expansion, especially for high-net-worth individuals aiming to maneuver through subpar local markets.

Bitterly stated, as reported by Bloomberg, that many investors currently exhibit a substantial underweight in alternative assets within their allocations.

Alternatives provide "distinct opportunities that are inaccessible in public markets that you wish to incorporate into your portfolio," she stated.

Capgemini stated that wealth management organizations are proactively planning for a forthcoming era of wealth transfer, during which US$83.5 trillion would be exchanged over the next twenty years.

The significant wealth transfer will be a pivotal moment for the sector. "Despite the increase in global wealth, 81% of beneficiaries intend to change firms within one to two years of receiving their inheritance," stated Kartik Ramakrishnan, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services Strategic Business Unit.

"The forthcoming generation of high-net-worth individuals possesses markedly different expectations than their predecessors," he stated, noting that the potential loss of these dissatisfied clients poses considerable risk to the global wealth management industry.

In January 2025, Capgemini performed a poll that collected information from numerous wealth managers and more than 6,000 high-net-worth individuals across 71 countries.