The Number of Millionaires Has Dropped for the First Time Since 2008 – Robb Report

The number of millionaires across the globe has dropped for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, but the seven-figure club still remains large in certain countries.

More than 3.5 million people lost their “millionaire” status last year due to high inflation, rising interest rates, and currency depreciation, according to the annual UBS Global Weath Report published on Tuesday. 

The number of millionaires fell from 62.9 million to 59.4 million in 2022, as per the Swiss bank. Total global wealth dropped 2.4 percent to $454.4 trillion, while wealth per adult fell 3.6 percent to $84,718. The loss of wealth was heavily concentrated in affluent areas across North America and Europe, which collectively shed $10.9 trillion. Conversely, countries such as Russia, Mexico, and Brazil actually gained millionaires last year.

The number of adults with assets of more than $1 million in the U.S. dropped by 1.8 million to 22.7 million in 2022, but the country is still home to the lion’s share of the world’s millionaires (38 percent). China has the second-highest number of seven-figure folks with 6.2 million (11 percent), while France has the third-highest millionaire population with 2.8 million (5 percent). The latter findings have reportedly outraged many on the French left, who believe President Macron is “Americanizing” the country and causing social division, as reported by The Times UK. 

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The report found that there were four times as many millionaires today as there were at the turn of the century. Moreover, UBS says global wealth is expected to climb 38 percent over the next five years to reach $629 trillion, and wealth per adult will likely rise to $110,270. In addition, the number of millionaires is also expected to reach 86 million by 2027 and the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals is likely to climb to 372,000. Economists say that’s a good thing.

“Properly mobilizing private wealth is critical in this period of change,” Paul Donovan, the chief economist at UBS, said in the report. “Whether as a source of investment or philanthropy, private wealth will shape the opportunities that are presented by technological change. It is private wealth that will lead the funding needed to create diverse, sustainable societies.”