It feels like the words “a million dollars” don’t have the same impact as they used to. Even the millionaire statistics show that becoming a millionaire today is not as impossible as it was a few decades ago. Nowadays, it’s all about billionaires and their massive fortunes.
As elaborated in one of the stats below, retirement millionaires are at an all-time high. According to some calculations, by investing just $750 in a monthly retirement plan, everyone can become a millionaire in less than 35 years. Becoming a billionaire, however, is going to take more effort than that.
Millionaire Stats and Facts (Editor’s Choice)
- The total number of millionaires worldwide is 56.1 million.
- More than 8% of the adult US population has a net worth of over $1 million.
- Over 8 million American households have a net worth of over $2 million.
- 79% of American millionaires did not inherit their fortunes.
- Close to 65% of all millionaires live in only five countries.
- There are 327 female billionaires in the world.
- Only 12 of the world’s billionaires are under 30.
- There are about 673,000 Americans with over $1 million in their retirement plans.
American Millionaire Statistics
What better place to start things off than the land of the free and the home of the brave? The US is home to the highest number of millionaires worldwide and the ideal country to create a fortune in. Let’s check out the stats on those living the American dream.
1. More than 8% of the adult US population has a net worth of over $1 million.
(Credit Suisse)
According to the latest stats provided by Credit Suisse, the number of millionaires in the US is close to 22 million. There was a notable increase of US citizens reaching millionaire status in 2020 due to the rise of the stock markets and real estate prices. Namely, around 2 million US citizens achieved a net worth of over $1 million for the first time that year.
2. There were 1.14 million millionaire families in California in 2020.
(Kiplinger)
California is undoubtedly the home to the largest number of wealthy American families. The Phoenix Marketing International stats for 2020 also show that Texas was the state with the second-most millionaire households in the country. There were over 650,000 millionaire families in Texas, which is just about half of California’s share. The third place goes to New York, where more than 570,000 families with a wealth of over $1 million reside.
3. Only 1% of Americans aged between 20 and 30 are millionaires.
(Fatfire Woman)
The statistics prove that the first million is the hardest to earn. Moving forward through the age groups, it is noticeable that the American citizens’ net worth increases as they age.
According to US millionaires by age statistics, about 5% of the people in the 20–30 age bracket have a net worth of over $1 million. Furthermore, 10% of the individuals between the ages of 40 and 50 are millionaires. The trend remains constant throughout all the age groups, and people over 60 have the highest percentage of millionaires.
4. Out of all African-American families, only 2% are millionaires.
(Black Enterprise, The Millionaire Choice, Federal Reserve)
Statistics show that only 340,000 African-American households have a wealth that exceeds $1 million. The report on US millionaires by race states that only one in 50 African-American families has a net worth of more than $1 million.
On the other hand, White people account for 76% of all millionaires in the country. In addition, 15% of all Caucasian families are millionaires, which means that one in seven White households has the millionaire status.
5. Over 8 million American households have a net worth of over $2 million.
(DQYDJ)
These families account for about 6.25% of all the households in the country. Millionaire statistics for the US also reveal that less than 1.5 million families, or 1.13% of all households, have a wealth that exceeds the $10 million threshold.
The numbers get significantly smaller when looking at the wealthiest of households: about 97,000 families are worth over $50 million, and only 34,000 over $100 million.
6. There are 2,755 billionaires worldwide, and only 15 of them are Black.
(AJC, Afrotech)
Nine of the 15 Black billionaires live in the US. Black millionaire statistics show that the wealthiest African-American is Robert Smith, with $6.7 billion. Globally, the richest Black person is Aliko Dangote, with a net worth of $14 billion.
The only two women on the list are also from the US. Rihanna and Oprah Winfrey hold the billionaire status with $1.7 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively. The collective wealth of all 15 is just under $55 billion.
7. There are about 673,000 Americans with more than $1 million in their retirement plans.
(CNBC)
Based on the 401k millionaire statistics from 2021, 365,000 accounts using this retirement plan have a balance higher than $1 million. The remaining 308,000 retirement-plan millionaires have an IRA.
The number of 401k and IRA millionaires has increased by over 100% compared to the year before. The average 401k account has a balance of about $124,000, and the IRA accounts average about $130,000. Both are at a record high.
8. 79% of American millionaires did not inherit their fortunes.
(Ramsey Solutions)
The self-made millionaire statistics show that almost four out of five millionaires in the States are first-generation rich — only 21% of all millionaires in the country received an inheritance.
Legacies worth more than $100,000 were left to about 16% of them, and only 3% of the millionaires inherited a wealth measured in millions. In addition, millionaire statistics imply that the number of self-made millionaires steadily increased over the past few years.
9. Currently, 735 billionaires reside in the US.
(Forbes)
US billionaires collectively own $4.7 trillion. While 2021 was a turbulent year for some global magnates, no Americans lost their place on the world’s billionaire list.
Chinese tech giants suffered the biggest losses: 87 lost their billionaire status due to a government crackdown. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also caused the names of 34 Russian tycoons to be removed from the billionaire list.
Millionaire Statistics by Country
There are plenty of millionaires outside of America as well, though their number is not evenly spread across the globe. That’s why we next check the statistics on millionaires worldwide and how they compare to their US counterparts.
10. The total number of millionaires in the world is 56.1 million.
(Credit Suisse, Inequality)
According to this figure, millionaires account for 1% of the global adult population. The global millionaire stats reveal that this small portion of people holds about 45.8% of the global wealth.
On the other end of the spectrum are people with a net worth of $10,000 and less. About 55% of the world’s population falls into this category, but they only hold 1.3% of the global wealth.
11. Close to 65% of all millionaires live in only five countries.
(Credit Suisse)
The US is the country with the most millionaires in the world. The remaining countries that comprise the top five are China, Japan, Germany, and the UK.
Global millionaire statistics also show that over 70% of the millionaires live in only two continents, North America and Europe. The millionaires living in Asia account for about 25%, and the remaining 5% are split between Australia, South America, and Africa.
12. Almost 2.5 million people in the UK are millionaires.
(The Guardian)
The number increased significantly after over 258,000 UK citizens became millionaires in 2021, reaching an all-time high. According to the millionaire statistics for the UK, the number of millionaires accounts for about 4.4% of the country’s total adult population.
Furthermore, the wealthiest 10% of UK households hold about 43% of the entire country’s wealth. On top of that, the richest 1% of UK families have a fortune of more than £3.6 million ($4.5 million).
13. The millionaires in Canada account for 3% of the world’s millionaires.
(Credit Suisse, Wealth Awesome)
The millionaire statistics for Canada show there were more than 1.6 million Canadians worth over $1 million in 2021. The country gained about 246,000 millionaires in the year before.
The stats also show that about 67% of the Canadian millionaires did not inherit their fortunes and are first-generation rich. A great deal of them are first-generation Canadians as well.
14. 10% of the Australian adult population is worth over $1 million.
(Credit Suisse)
There are about 18 million adults living in Australia, and around 1.8 million have a wealth of over $1 million. Therefore, every tenth Australian is a millionaire. Moreover, the projections from the millionaire statistics for Australia by Credit Suisse predict the number of Australian millionaires will jump to 3 million by 2025.
15. There are close to 5.3 million millionaires in China.
(Credit Suisse, Forbes)
Even though the number of millionaires in China is the second-largest globally, the Chinese population is so big that they account for only 0.5% of it. Their share of the total number of millionaires in the world is much more considerable — 9.4%.
China is also home to 539 billionaires, whose combined net worth is just below $2 trillion. However, as of 2022, none of the Chinese billionaires feature in the top 10 wealthiest people on the planet.
16. More than a million millionaires live in Switzerland.
(Credit Suisse)
Looking at the number of millionaires living in other countries, a million Swiss moguls may not seem that impressive. However, the population of Switzerland is only 8.6 million people, and it accounts for just about 0.1% of the world population.
According to millionaire statistics, 2% of all millionaires worldwide are from Switzerland. Moreover, they make up 14.9% of the adult population in the country, placing it at the top of the list of countries with the most millionaires per capita.
17. Japanese millionaires hold a 6.6% share of the global millionaire population.
(Credit Suisse, Statista)
The number of people with a net worth of $1 million or more in Japan is 3.6 million. This places Japan in the third spot on the list of countries with the highest number of millionaires, bested only by the US and China.
Millionaire stats show that the countries with the most millionaires generally have a high inequality index, though this is not the case for Japan. About 92% of the Japanese citizens have a wealth of over $10,000.
18. About 698,000 millionaires are from India.
(Credit Suisse, Forbes)
Almost 700,000 Indians account for about one percent of millionaires in the world. While their number is somewhat remarkable, it can’t compare to the Chinese or US millionaires.
That being said, the list of countries with the most billionaires is where India truly excels. With 166 billionaires, India is in the top three countries on this list, only behind China and the US. Their collective net worth is $750 billion, and the richest among them, Mukesh Ambani, is the 10th wealthiest person in the world as of 2022.
Fun Facts About Millionaires
After checking the stats for millionaires in the US and everywhere else, the data is starting to run out. Not to worry, though; we saved the best for last. To finish off strong, let’s check out some fun millionaire facts with no common denominator other than being fascinating.
19. The net worth of Elon Musk is $224 billion as of 2022.
(Forbes, Investopedia)
Elon Musk is in a different league and far from just another American millionaire. Not only is he the richest person in the world right now, but he is also the wealthiest person who has ever lived. Tesla, the company he owns a 16% share of, has reached a market cap of $1 trillion.
His other means of income are associated with his space exploration program, SpaceX, and cryptocurrency investments. The wealth of Elon Musk is so immense that it is often compared to the GDP of countries like Greece and Kazakhstan rather than the worth of the average millionaire.
20. There are 327 female billionaires in the world.
(Forbes, Statista)
That’s close to 12% of the total number of billionaires. Moreover, their share of the top 100 wealthiest people worldwide is almost the same, with 14 women on it. The leader of the pack, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, is the world’s 14th richest person, one spot ahead of Mark Zuckerberg.
The collective net worth of female billionaires is $1.56 trillion in 2022, about $30 billion more than the year before. Millionaire demographics also show that most female billionaires are American, as 90 of them live in the US. Another 63 billionaires are from China and Hong Kong, and with the 35 from Germany, they round the top three.
21. A fortune of $7.9 million is needed to join Monaco’s wealthiest 1% of the population.
(Statista, Business Insider)
In case you were wondering, most millionaires don’t have what it takes to become a part of this most elite group of people. According to the millionaire statistics, the US top 1% status can be achieved with $4.4 million in wealth.
Monaco’s extremely high threshold can be easily explained with a couple of facts. First, Monaco is a country smaller than one square mile where over 12,000 millionaires reside to avoid taxes. Moreover, it has a 0 poverty rate, and its population is just above 38,000. So it’s no surprise it’s incomparable to the rest of the world.
22. Only 12 of the world’s billionaires are under 30.
(Forbes)
The millionaire statistics by age reported by Forbes show that Kevin David Lehmann is the youngest person to join the billionaire list in 2021. At only 19, he is worth about $2.4 billion after inheriting a 50% share of the German drugstore chain DM from his father.
Another four of the young billionaires inherited their fortunes, while seven are self-made. If combined, their net worth amounts to $25.8 billion. The wealthiest among them is Gary Wang, cofounder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with $5.9 billion.
Millionaire Statistics — The Bottom Line
In summary, the number of millionaires today might give the impression that a million dollars is not that remarkable of a sum. However, as the stats show, that’d be wrong. Millionaires still keep a status of privilege in the US and the rest of the world.
Besides that, more than half of the people in the world have a wealth of $10,000 or less. This proves that becoming a millionaire is an incredible feat that requires a lot of ambition, sacrifice, and discipline.