When it comes to the rise of multimillionaires, the United States is leading the charge, a new report found.
The number of high-net-worth individuals — or those with assets worth more than $10 million — rose 4.4% worldwide in 2024, to 2,341,378, but jumped 5.2% in North America, according to the annual Wealth Report by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
The U.S. is now home to almost 40% of the world’s super rich, the report estimates — nearly double the share that resides in China, the region with the next highest contingent of wealthy individuals.
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“While the global economy slowed through 2024, the resilience of the U.S. helped prop up investor confidence,” Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said in a statement. “The trends powering wealth creation, including growth in financial markets led by equity markets and the bitcoin run, continued through 2024.”
Over the year, positive market conditions helped boost investors’ bottom line. The S&P 500 stock index gained 23% in 2024. The tech-heavy Nasdaq grew about 29% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 12%.
“And despite geopolitical tensions, resilient global trade further contributed to growth,” Bailey said.
The rich are getting richer
After increasing 4.2% in 2024, the population of global citizens worth at least $100 million surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time, Knight Frank also found.
Meanwhile, the total number of billionaires jumped nearly 8% last year, according to a separate report by Oxfam from January.
“We’ve reached a new era now, we are in the era of the billionaire,” Jenny Ricks, general secretary of the human rights group Fight Inequality Alliance, recently told CNBC.
Roughly 204 new billionaires were minted in just 12 months, the Oxfam report found.
“Not only has the rate of billionaire wealth accumulation accelerated — by three times — but so too has their power,” Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International’s executive director, said in a statement after the report’s release.
The latest numbers also underscore a deepening divide between the world’s rich and poor.
Despite the fact that America ranks first as the richest nation, 36.8 million Americans live in poverty, accounting for 11.1% of the total population, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Many middle-class Americans are also showing signs of strain amid the escalating trade war and increased inflationary fears.