A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. The U.S. now accounts for more than a third of the world’s millionaires and billionaires, as tech companies and startups mint ever larger fortunes. The U.S. has more than 6 million liquid millionaires, or those with investable assets of more than $1 million, up 78% over the past decade, according to a report from Henley & Partners and New World Wealth. They account for 37% of the global millionaire total. The number of U.S. centimillionaires, or those with $100 million or more in investable assets, reached 10,835 in 2024 — more than four times the number for second-ranked China. There are now 867 American billionaires, representing a third of all global billionaires. “America is the undisputed world leader when it comes to high-growth tech sectors such as software, microchips, online retail, internet hosting, social media, search engines and AI,” said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth. Along with its own millionaire growth, the U.S. also benefits from overseas millionaires moving to America. Last year, about 3,800 millionaires from overseas moved to the U.S., including 95 centimillionaires, according to the report. The report said most of migrating millionaires moved to California (for the tech companies), Florida and Texas. While the traditional wealth hubs in the U.S. continue to dominate, with New York, the Bay Area and Los Angeles home to the most millionaires, many of the fastest-growing wealth centers are in the sunbelt. Scottsdale, Arizona, is the fastest-growing U.S. city for millionaire growth, with its millionaire population surging 125% over the past decade, to 14,800. West Palm Beach, Florida, ranked as the second-fastest growing, up 112% to 11,500, with the Bay Area ranking third and Miami fourth. The race between the Bay Area and New York for millionaires is getting closer each year. New York’s millionaire count, at 384,500, is now just above the Bay Area’s 342,400. The Bay Area’s millionaire population grew 98% over the past decade, compared with New York’s 45%. With artificial intelligence injecting new fortunes and wealth creation into the Bay Area, it may not be long before it takes the crown from the Big Apple.
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A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The U.S. now accounts for more than a third of the world’s millionaires and billionaires, as tech companies and startups mint ever larger fortunes.
