The consulting firm Capgemini defines high-net-worth individuals as those with more than $1 million in investable assets, excluding their main residence.
Their number rose by 7.9% to 25.3 million last year, almost two million more than had been projected for 2024, according to the firm's World Wealth Report. Their combined wealth climbed by 8.7% to $98.3 trillion, a record high and the largest annual increase since 2018.
Capgemini said equity markets, propelled by AI-related gains, had been the main engine of wealth creation for high-net-worth individuals in five of the six major regions surveyed. The report also noted that wealth remains highly concentrated, with 1% of high-net-worth individuals holding 34.8% of the total.
In 2025, despite US tariffs, Wall Street indices were lifted by Federal Reserve rate cuts and the rallying enthusiasm around AI, climbing between 13 and 20%. In Europe, investors flocked to defence stocks and to the large public investment programme promised by Germany. Frankfurt gained 23.01%, Paris 10.41%, Milan 31.46%, and London 21.51%.
The fastest growth in the number of millionaires, at 9.4%, was recorded in Asia-Pacific, driven by the semiconductor sector and led by Japan and China. North America followed with a 9.1 percentage rise, thanks to the United States, which posted the largest absolute increase in new millionaires (736,000 more, or 9.2%, taking the total to 8.7 million).
After a dip in 2024, the number of millionaires in Europe grew by 6.5%. Luxembourg led the way with a 13.5% rise, ahead of Germany on 11.1% and well ahead of France, which managed only 2.7%.
Africa saw a 4.1% rise and Latin America a marginal 0.3%. The Middle East was the only region to slip back, with a 1.4% fall, weighed down in particular by lower oil prices.
The ultra-wealthy, defined as those with at least $30 million in assets, grew by 9.4% to roughly 250,000 people, with their combined wealth climbing 9.7%.
The study surveyed 6,510 wealthy individuals across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in January.
