Published On 5/7/2026
Global wealth continued to grow for the third year in a row during 2025, at a pace that exceeded the growth of the global economy, driven by the rise in the value of financial and non-financial assets, in addition to structural factors that include exchange rate movements, the transfer of wealth between generations, and the increasing ownership of assets by women, according to the Global Wealth Report for 2026 issued by UBS Bank, and reported by the Investing.com platform.
The report indicated that wealth creation does not depend only on productivity or investment returns, but is also affected by major economic transformations that give some markets and individuals exceptional opportunities to benefit from structural changes in the global economy.
The dollar redistributes global wealth
The report found that exchange rate movements were the most influential factor in the performance of wealth during the year 2025, as the weakness of the US dollar led to an increase in the average dollar-denominated wealth in most regions of the world.
Western Europe recorded the largest gains among major economies, with average wealth growing by about 17%, while it rose in Eastern Europe by about 28%. Wealth also increased in North America by about 8.8%, and in Greater China by 4.6%, while the increase in Southeast Asia amounted to about 1.6%.
The report indicated that more than half of the world’s personal wealth is concentrated in only two markets, as the United States accounts for 37.5% of the total global wealth, followed by Greater China with 18.5%, while Europe’s share is about 22%, while the Americas together maintain about 40% of global wealth.
One million new millionaires in one year
The report revealed that the number of millionaires in the world increased by about 1.5% during 2025, equivalent to adding about one million new millionaires, or approximately 2,680 millionaires per day.
The United States topped this growth, after adding more than 440,000 millionaires within one year, an increase of 1.9% compared to 2024, meaning more than 1,200 new millionaires daily.
The report pointed out that none of the 56 markets it included recorded a decline in the number of millionaires over the past year, an indication of the widening base of wealth creation despite the continuing global economic fluctuations.
Structural transformations reshape wealth
UBS explained that the transfer of wealth between generations, in what is known as the “Great Transfer of Wealth,” continues to redistribute assets globally, in conjunction with the rise in women’s ownership of wealth and the decline in household debt levels in a number of economies, which are factors that contribute to reshaping the patterns of wealth distribution.
The report added that inflation, along with improved living standards in a number of countries, contributed to the exit of increasing numbers of individuals from the lowest levels of wealth, despite continuing concerns about widening income gaps in some economies.
On the other hand, he pointed out that high levels of government debt are pushing governments to pay greater attention to private wealth, with expectations of increased reliance on tax policies and wealth management to help contain public financing costs.
The report also pointed out that the spread of social media has made the differences in wealth levels more visible to public opinion, which has strengthened the feeling of inequality even in some countries that have witnessed an actual decline in wealth gaps.
The report concludes that the path of global wealth creation no longer depends solely on economic growth or the performance of financial markets, but is increasingly affected by demographic shifts, monetary changes, and the transfer of wealth between generations, which are factors likely to play a greater role in redrawing the map of global wealth in the coming years.
