The latest UBS Global Wealth Report not only highlights where the world’s wealth is concentrated but also highlights the growing dynamics of global wealth migration.
High-net-worth individuals are increasingly relocating across borders in search of lower taxes, political stability, and better investment opportunities. While this mobility benefits host nations, it can exacerbate inequalities in countries losing capital, reducing tax bases and limiting public investment.
Economists note that political and economic uncertainty, regulatory changes, and shifts in taxation policies drive many millionaires to seek safer jurisdictions for their assets. Technology and financial globalization have further eased the transfer of capital, making it simpler for wealthy individuals to relocate or invest across borders.
Wealth is typically measured in U.S. dollars, the global benchmark for trade and investment. This standard avoids confusion from fluctuating local currencies, since being a millionaire in naira or CFA francs does not equate to the same wealth as a dollar millionaire.
According to the report, the world added over 680,000 new USD millionaires in 2024, a 1.2% increase. In percentage terms, the largest growth occurred in Türkiye, which surpassed 8%, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 5.8%.
“We expect the number of USD millionaires to keep rising in most of the 56 markets that we track. Overall, our analysis projects an additional 5.34 million people will join the ranks of the world’s USD millionaires by the year 2029, an increase of almost 9% over 2024,” the report noted.
Mapping the world’s dollar millionaires
| Rank | Country | Number of USD Millionaires (in thousands) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
United States |
23,831 |
|
2 |
Mainland China |
6,327 |
|
3 |
France |
2,897 |
|
4 |
Japan |
2,732 |
|
5 |
Germany |
2,675 |
|
6 |
United Kingdom |
2,624 |
|
7 |
Canada |
2,098 |
|
8 |
Australia |
1,904 |
|
9 |
Italy |
1,344 |
|
10 |
South Korea |
1,301 |
Topping the list is the United States, home to 23,831,000 millionaires, followed by Mainland China with 6,327,000.
France ranks third with 2,897,000, while Japan and Germany complete the top five.
Rounding out the top ten are the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Italy, and South Korea, highlighting the regions where wealth remains most concentrated and migration patterns are most pronounced.
Notably, no African nations appear in the top 10 of the Global Wealth Report showing the regions with the highest number of dollar millionaires, highlighting the continent’s relatively small share of global high-net-worth individuals.
While countries like South Africa and Nigeria do host sizable millionaire populations, historical economic challenges, lower levels of wealth accumulation, and limited access to global financial markets have constrained their representation.
Additionally, factors such as political instability, currency volatility, and higher taxation on investment income may have contributed to slower growth in the number of millionaires compared with established economies in North America, Europe, and Asia
