How Many Millionaires Are There in the World? 25+ Millionaire Statistics

Who wants to become a millionaire? The answer is - practically everybody. But, how many millionaires are there in the world already? The answers are a lot less clear on that one.

This is not at all surprising, as there are major discrepancies in how “millionaires” are categorized worldwide. Some studies count millionaires by individual net worth, while others take their households into account as well. Some only take investable assets into consideration, while other options include homes, art, and other valuables in the summary of a person’s wealth. Here's what the numbers say.

Key Statistics About Millionaires for 2024 – Editor’s Choice

• There are 59.6 million millionaires worldwide at the moment. 
• 88% of all millionaires are self-made, and 84% have a college degree.
• The number of billionaires in 2023 sat at 2,640 individuals.
• In 2023, 109 billionaires lived in Beijing, and 105 in New York.
• It takes the typical self-made millionaire at least 32 years to get rich.

The global number of millionaires reached 59.6 million in 2022.

(UBS)

There are currently more than 59.6 million adult millionaires in the world, with a total net worth of $158.26 trillion. They make for 1.1% of the population.

The top three countries that have the most millionaires are the US (39.1%), China (9.4%), and Japan (6.6%).

(Credit Suisse)

These three countries have the highest number of millionaires on a global scale. In fourth place, there is Germany (5.3%), and the UK shares fifth place with France, as they each house 4.4% of the world’s millionaires.

More than 70% of all millionaires in 2023 consider themselves self-made.

(Statista) 

Allegedly, only a small percentage of today’s millionaires inherited all their wealth - approximately 7.4%. Another 20.1% admitted the source of their wealth is a combination of inheritance and personal earnings, while the vast majority claim to have earned their wealth through income from work, real estate, investment, or by selling their business.

The United States lost the most millionaires in 2022, followed by Japan and the United Kingdom.

(Barrons)

These three countries lost the most millionaires after the economic downturn after the Russo-Ukranian war started, with the US losing some 1.77 million millionaires compared to 2021, and Japan losing 446 thousand.

88% of millionaires have a college degree.

(Ramsey Solutions)

In terms of becoming a millionaire, having a college degree certainly pays off. However, pursuing further academic success doesn’t seem as prevalent: Only 52% of millionaires also have master’s degrees or PhDs.

Global wealth is projected to rise by 38% by 2027.

(Credit Suisse)

Credit Suisse report for 2023 predicts that the total amount of wealth will increase to $629 trillion by 2027, even though 2022 was the first year since 2008 to show a decrease in wealth, which dropped by $11.3 trillion or 2.8%. 

By 2025, the percentage of millionaires in China is expected to increase by 92.7%.

(Credit Suisse)

China is projected to have the highest growth in millionaire numbers in the coming years. Denmark is next in line for the highest projected growth, expected to rise by 82.4%. India is in third place in this category, with a projected rise of 81.8% by 2025.

The average age to make your first million is 50. It typically takes 32 years to get rich.

(Business Insider)

General wealth trends show that it took 38 years for more than 50% of millionaires to join this category. Only 4% of so-called self-made millionaires made this happen in less than 27 years. This means you can hardly expect to become a millionaire while you’re in your forties - 80% of millionaires didn’t become extremely wealthy before they turned 50.

The total number of millionaires dropped by 3.5 million in 2022.

(Credit Suisse)

The recent report also indicated that the the share of wealth held by the richest people in the world fell from 45.6% 44.5% compared to 2021.

76% of all millionaires are married.

(Coldwell Banker Luxury)

While more than three-quarters of the top 1% are married, this ratio is lower for their younger subset. However, Millennials still fit the other markers of wealth pretty well: Just like most other millionaires, they typically have only one child, and the vast majority (80%) have single-family homes. Also, 93% of all millennial millionaires have an average net worth between $1 and $2.49 million, and they donate to charity more than millionaires of other ages.

The Number of Millionaires in the United States

Since most millionaires in the world currently call the US home, it might be interesting to look at what the numbers say about American millionaires.

In 2023, 33% percent of American millionaires were women.

(The Quantum)

The number of female millionaires in the US has been rising rapidly, especially when compared to the last decade, where in 2014 some 87% of US millionaires were men.

Only 11 out of the 56 richest women in America are self-made.

(Forbes)

The Forbes Billionaires List includes 56 women. However, most of their combined wealth of $452 billion is held by MacKenzie Scott and Alice Walton. Scott’s last name was Bezos prior to her divorce, whose settlement landed her on the list, and Walton is the heir to the Walmart fortune. The first ten all inherited their wealth from either their husband or family. Only two women on the Forbes list are women of color.

The average American feels that it takes $2.2 million to be considered wealthy in America.

(Schwab)

A thousand Americans gave their perspective on what it takes to be considered wealthy in the US in 2023. 48% of them answered that they feel wealthy, and the average net worth of those that stated it was $560,000. 

24.4 million individuals in the US were worth $1 million in 2023.

(Credit Suisse)

Currently, around 8.8% of adults in the US are millionaires. Therefore, if you live in the US, chances are you know at least one millionaire, especially in New Jersey, where 10% of all households have a net worth of over $1 million.

76% of US millionaires in 2023 were white.

(Forbes, Statista)

The percentage split among US millionaires has remained pretty much the same in the previous decade, with 8% Asian and Black millionaires, and Latino millionaires accounting for 7%.

How Many People Are Billionaires Globally?

Where there is the first million, there is often another, and if your luck keeps, you might even get to travel into space. But how common is that, really?

In 2020, the world got eight new billionaires each week.

(Business Standard)

Despite the pandemic, in 2020, the list of the world’s billionaires expanded by eight spots each week. In 2020 alone, billionaires added the equivalent of Germany's GDP to their wealth.

The number of billionaires in 2023 dopped down to 2,640.

(Forbes)

Altogether, these people are worth a staggering $12.2 trillion, which is $500 billion less than the collective wealth of the previous year’s billionaires. One hundred and six members of the list are under 40 years of age, and two-thirds are self-made.

10% of the world’s billionaires live in just four Chinese cities.

(Forbes)

Beijing is currently lead in terms of the number of billionaires that call it home, while New York is in second place. Shangai, Shenzhen, and London are next on the list.

Elon Musk overpowered Jeff Bezos for the title of the richest man in the world in 2021.

(Forbes)

Elon Musk currently has a net worth of $232 billion, which is quite the jump from 2020, when he was in third place with an estimated $141.4 billion. In 2023, Jeff Bezos, formerly the richest man in the world, lags far behind Musk with “just” $150 billion to its name.

The billionaires’ fortune rose by 27% in 2020.

(BBC)

As mentioned, the number of billionaires in the world has risen to an all-time high of 2,755. Among the billionaires, the biggest winners were industrialists, as their wealth rose by 44% just in Q2 2020.

New York is a millionaire’s home, Beijing is home to 109 billionaires.

(Forbes)

New York has been dethroned as a city with the most billionaires in 2021 by Beijing. The Chinese capital is currently just a single billionaire stronger than the Big Apple. Country-wide, the US is still topping the list of countries with the most millionaires, and still has the most billionaires, too - 724. However, China is slowly but surely closing the gap with 698.

Retail generated 10.3% of the total wealth for 2020.

(Hurun)

Retail was followed by consumer goods (9.6%), and the third was media and entertainment (8.2%). Surprisingly, tech came fourth, with software and services generating 7.9% of all the world’s wealth for 2020. Still, the primary sources of wealth for 17.4% of billionaires were healthcare and real estate.

What about Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals?

For someone to be considered an ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNWI), they typically need at least $30 million in investable assets to their name. While this is hardly set in stone, it can still be used as a guideline to help us figure out how many rich people there are in the world. Let’s see what the statistics say on this group.

North America overtook the Asia-Pacific region after five years as the region with the highest HNWI population and wealth title.

(World Wealth Report)

The Asia-Pacific region took the title of the most HNWI-dense area in 2015 and held it for five years. In 2020, however, North America took back the title. The key reason for this shift was the soaring prices of tech stock in 2020. Namely, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft accounted for 53% of S&P 500 total returns that year. The prices and returns further escalated in 2020, creating many millionaires worldwide.

The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals grew by 24% worldwide. 

(BBC)

In 2020, the growth of UHNI reached its fastest rate since 2003. China was home to most of this rapid increase, as its billionaires grew their wealth most significantly: It rose by 1,146% between 2009 and 2020.

In Europe, the fashion and retail industries were the biggest wealth drivers in 2020.

(World Wealth Report)

As mentioned before, retail, technology, and finance drove the wealth increase in the US in 2020. In the Asia Pacific region, real estate and technology were the main industries factoring into the statistics.

209 billionaires donated a significant portion of their wealth to fight the COVID-19 crisis.

(BBC)

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaires weren’t shy to donate to any efforts helping the fight against the virus. Between March and June 2020, billionaires donated $7.2 billion to causes providing aid to those affected by the pandemic.