U.S. added 441,078 millionaires in 2025 as richer households pulled ahead
UBS says the millionaire class grew quickly in 2025, but households worth $5 million to $100 million have been building wealth faster.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The United States added 441,078 millionaires in 2025, according to UBS, a pace of more than 1,200 a day. The increase shows how rising markets have lifted more households past seven figures, while UBS data also points to a widening gap between those millionaires and families with far larger fortunes.
UBS said in its 2026 Global Wealth Report, released Tuesday, that the U.S. accounted for nearly half of the world’s new millionaires last year. The bank also said the number of millionaires rose across all 56 markets it tracks, the first time that has happened in its data.
UBS last year introduced the term “EMILLI,” short for “Everyday MILLIonaire,” for households that reached millionaire status through routes such as retirement accounts, homeownership, savings and public-market investing. The 2026 report shows that group is still growing, but the next wealth tier is growing faster.
The faster-growing tier above millionaires
UBS calls households with $5 million to $100 million in net wealth the “elder siblings” of everyday millionaires. Since 2000, the bank said, that group’s collective wealth has grown at a 6.1% annual real rate, compared with 4% for the everyday millionaire tier.
That difference compounds sharply over time. UBS data cited by Fortune shows that $1 million growing at 4% a year becomes about $2.7 million over 25 years, while $5 million growing at 6.1% becomes about $21.7 million over the same span.
UBS said the higher-wealth group posted double-digit growth in both headcount and wealth in several major markets in 2025, including the United States, Australia and mainland China. In mainland China, the bank said, the $5 million-to-$100 million cohort has compounded at a 30.9% annual rate since 2000.
The composition of wealth helps explain the divergence, according to UBS figures reported by Fortune. In the United States, close to 79% of personal wealth is held in financial assets such as stocks, brokerage accounts and retirement portfolios, the fourth-highest share among countries in the UBS sample.
Fortune reported that households in the higher tier also have broader access to investment vehicles such as private equity, private credit, co-investments with family offices and other alternatives. Those products often require minimum commitments of $500,000 to $1 million per position, putting them out of reach for many households whose total portfolio is near the low seven figures.
Why $1 million feels different now
UBS chief economist Paul Donovan said in the report that people judge wealth partly by comparing themselves with others. “People tend to think about their wealth relative to the wealth of others, rather than in absolute terms,” Donovan said.
Donovan told Fortune that the millionaire line is a nominal figure, which makes it easier to cross than it was two decades ago. He also said everyday millionaires generally can invest in equities, though higher-wealth households are likely to hold a larger share of their portfolios in them; if equities trail other assets, he said, growth rates would change.
Empower research cited by Fortune found that Americans say they need an average net worth of $5.3 million to feel financially successful. That figure is close to the point where UBS places households in the tier above everyday millionaires.
Donovan also told Fortune that access to assets has broadened over time, pointing to private equity funds and crowdsourced funding as examples. Still, he said perceptions of wealth vary by society and people can confuse wealth with income; a homeowner whose property value pushes net worth above $1 million may not feel richer if earnings have not risen.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.