Household wealth has seen a significant increase in 2025, with a "record" number of "new millionaires" worldwide, according to a study by the Swiss bank UBS published on Tuesday.

Last year, nearly one million people worldwide, or the equivalent of 2,600 people "per day" on average, saw the value of their assets reach the million-dollar mark, between their financial and real estate assets, according to estimates from the Swiss wealth management giant.

The United States accounted for nearly half of these new millionaires, the bank said, "with more than 440,000 additional people", followed by mainland China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.

Each year, UBS produces a report on global wealth, called the "Global Wealth Report," which assesses the evolution of household wealth. It covers all of their financial and non-financial assets (mainly real estate), minus their debts.

"Being a dollar millionaire does not mean having a million in the bank or in an investment portfolio," the study specifies, with the primary residence representing the largest asset for most households.

According to this study, which is based on a sample of 56 countries, personal wealth, across all levels of assets, has climbed 10.8% in 2025, progressing "at its fastest pace since 2017", the bank says in the press release accompanying the study.

Unequal gains

This increase is explained by "the strength of the financial markets" and "the increase in non-financial assets", adds UBS, which notes however that "the gains have been uneven", with growth "particularly strong in wealth segments above $5 million", it observes.

According to estimates by its economists, people with a net worth of more than $1 million represent about 1.5% of the world's population, compared to 15.3% with a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million, 41.1% between $10,000 and $100,000 and 42.1% below $10,000.

In 2000, people with less than $10,000 in assets represented "nearly 75%" of the world's population, but since then, "the middle and upper segments have grown," the bank points out.

At the other end of the wealth spectrum, UBS has identified 3,302 billionaires in 2025, 383 more than the previous year. More than a thousand reside in the United States, 562 in China, and 211 in India.

Depreciation of the US dollar

According to this report, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region recorded the strongest increase in personal wealth last year, with a jump of 17.5%, compared to 8.5% on the American continent.

This discrepancy is partly explained by the depreciation of the US dollar. To facilitate comparisons between countries, the figures are converted into dollars, which has "amplified the increases in wealth outside the United States," the bank notes.

According to its estimates, wealth growth amounted to 5.9% in Asia-Pacific.

By country, Switzerland tops the ranking with an average wealth per adult of $910,382, followed by the United States ($696,277) and Luxembourg ($654,732).

France ranks 15th with an average wealth of $341,359, behind Germany ($346,613) and ahead of Taiwan ($332,533).

AFP