According to the 2025 Wealth Report by Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy headquartered in London, the United States is home to 39% of the world’s ultra-wealthy—defined as individuals with a net worth of $10 million or more. That equates to 905,413 people, nearly double the number in China, which has 471,634. Japan follows with 122,119 individuals in this wealth category, and India ranks fourth with 85,698.
“Despite our forecast that Asia will outpace North America in wealth creation over the next four years, there is no realistic challenge to U.S. dominance,” the report states.
The U.S. also leads when it comes to individuals worth $100 million or more, accounting for over 40% of that global segment.
“While the global economy slowed through 2024, the resilience of the U.S. helped prop up investor confidence,” said Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research. “The trends powering wealth creation—including growth in financial markets led by equities and the bitcoin rally—continued through 2024. And despite geopolitical tensions, resilient global trade further contributed to growth,” he added.
Patrick Gower, a researcher at Knight Frank, attributed the strong year for the wealthy to a mix of factors: high-stakes investments in risk assets like cryptocurrency, the S&P 500 rising over 20% for a second consecutive year, bitcoin surging 120%, and President Donald Trump’s promises to roll back regulatory constraints.
The U.S. also dominates in the billionaire category, housing 30% of the world’s billionaires and 40% of total billionaire wealth. American billionaires currently hold $5.7 trillion in wealth—a 10-year high. In contrast, China has seen a 10% drop in its share of global billionaire wealth.
By sector, finance and investment account for the highest number of billionaires, while the tech sector leads in total billionaire wealth. On Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, eight of the ten richest people globally—including Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg—earned their fortunes through technology.
Knight Frank’s report also notes that the average age of a billionaire in 2024 was 65.7. While 87% of all billionaires are male, 82% of new billionaires last year were men—a decline from 90% four years earlier. Notably, in 2024, nearly half of the billionaires under age 30 were women.
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