Personal wealth in 2025 grew at its fastest pace in years, creating nearly one million new US dollar millionaires worldwide, Swiss bank UBS said in its annual Global Wealth Report published on Tuesday (June 30).
As per the study, total personal wealth globally rose by 10.8% last year, up from 4.6% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2023, as strong financial markets boosted growth.
“There were more millionaires than ever in 2025. The United States, where over 440,000 people became new US dollar millionaires, accounted for almost half of this growth,” the bank said.
Wealth in dollar terms grew disproportionately quickly in Europe, largely due to the 2025 depreciation of the currency compared to the euro.
“While average wealth rose, inequality has deepened since 2020,” UBS said.
“Median wealth, which better reflects the middle of the scale, declined in most countries, highlighting a growing divide between the wealthiest and the broader population,” the Swiss biggie added further.
For the report, UBS analysed 56 markets it estimates to represent over 92% of the world’s wealth. Out of these markets, Asia-Pacific remained a global wealth powerhouse, but its momentum is fading. The region trailed all other major markets in wealth growth in 2025 as currency effects weighed on asset values.
“Wealth across Asia-Pacific increased by just 5.9% in US dollar terms, well below the global average and significantly behind Europe and the Middle East, where wealth expanded by almost 18%,” UBS noted.
While the weak US dollar significantly boosted the value of wealth denominated in European currencies, the Asian counterparts saw far smaller gains against the greenback. Greater China recorded wealth growth of 4.6%, while Southeast Asia posted only 1.6%, making the region the weakest-performing in the study despite continuing economic expansion.
“As a result, Asia-Pacific’s share of global wealth fell from almost 36% in 2024 to 32.8% last year. By comparison, the Americas retained around 40% of global wealth, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa increased their share to 26.6%,” UBS remarked.
Despite the slowdown, Asia has remained one of the world’s key wealth engines, with UBS taking note of the region continuing to produce large numbers of high-net-worth individuals, particularly in Greater China and Southeast Asia.