The U.S. minted more than than half the world’s new millionaires last year as investments in equities and tech stocks propelled assets higher.
The world’s wealthiest country accounted for 675,000 new millionaires, according to Credit Suisse Group AG’s Global Wealth Report. Japan and China contributed the second- and third-most, according to calculations based on U.S. dollars.
A significant portion of wealth in the U.S. is allocated to equities, which are getting a boost from rising values in the tech sector, Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, chief investment officer for international wealth management at Credit Suisse, said at an event in Zurich. Wealth per adult in the U.S. has increased each year since 2008.
Overall, it has been a slow year for growth in wealth globally that underscored how investments in different asset classes affected returns. The U.S. and China contributed the most to the total, adding $3.8 trillion and $1.9 trillion respectively. While most of the increase in China came from non-financial assets such real estate, stocks were a key contributor in the U.S.
“There are lots of people in the U.S. that are just below the millionaire threshold, so it doesn’t take a lot to push them over it,” Anthony Shorrocks, the report’s author, said at the event. The large population, average wealth and level of inequality all support the country’s ability to generate millionaires.
Australia lost 124,000 millionaires as its currency slipped against the U.S. dollar, and the U.K. saw 27,000 fall under the threshold on a weak pound and sluggish stock markets.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less