How many millionaires are there in the world? A friend sent me an email asking this question not too long ago. I’m sure it took him a few hours of Google searching to find someone who could give him a conclusive answer, but not me. I just reached over, grabbed my laptop from the coffee table, and quickly Googled “How Many Millionaires Are There In The World?”
How many millionaires are there in the world today? Is it expected that the number of millionaires is going to keep growing, or is there a global shortage of millionaires? No one knows for sure, but we do know they’re all saving different amounts of money and living in different places.
For the first time in history, more than 1% of global adults are millionaires—that’s 56.1 million millionaires. But unless you live in a small handful of places, you’re unlikely to bump into one. According to the newest Credit Suisse Global Wealth report, just three countries contain just over 50% of the world’s millionaires—🇺🇸 the US, 🇨🇳 China, and 🇯🇵 Japan.
Millionaire Statistics (Editor’s Pick):
- The United States added 2,251,000 new millionaires from 2019 to 2020.
- The total number of millionaires in the US is 20.27 million.
- There are 788 billionaires in the United States.
- There are 323,443 millionaire households in New Jersey.
- 76% of US millionaires are white.
- New York is the city with the biggest concentration of ultra-rich millionaires with 24,660 UHNW.
- The United States’ millennial millionaires own an average of three properties with a real estate portfolio worth $1.4 million.
- About 44% of US-based millennial millionaires live in California.
- 43.4% of the world’s wealth is controlled by the top 1%.
What Percentage of Americans are Millionaires?
Let’s start with the basics. The number of millionaires, their households, and how they got their wealth.
1. How many millionaires are in the US in 2020?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
The Global Wealth Report says that the total number of millionaires in the US is 20.27 million. The United States also added 2,251,000 new millionaires from 2019 to 2020 alone, which puts it at the very top of the list of countries with the most millionaires.
Since the adult US population is around 250 million, that means that just over 8% of Americans are millionaires.
2. How many US millionaire households are there?
(Source: Spectrem)
A new survey has found that there are 13.61 million households that have a net worth of $1 million or more, not including the value of their primary residence. That’s more than 10% of households in the US.
So the US is definitely the country with the most millionaires.
3. What percentage of millionaires inherited their wealth?
(Source: Ramsey Solutions)
Only about 20% of Americans inherit their riches.
The rest of them (80%) are self-made, first-generation millionaires. Most millionaires have to work for the money and don’t get rich once a relative dies, according to “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy” by Thomas J Stanley.
Gatsby would be proud.
Multimillionaires in the United States
Of course, millionaires are only one part of the equation. Many people have more than a single million, and some have much, much more.
4. How many people are worth 10 million?
(Source: DQYDJ)
Have you ever wondered how many decamillionaires are in the US?
Well, we did.
And we found out that there are an estimated 1,456,336 households with a net worth of at least $10 million.
It is important to note that we are talking about a household, not an individual. So there may be more than one person earning in a single household.
5. How many multi-millionaires are in the US?
(Source: DQYDJ)
About 8,046,080 US households have a net worth of $2 million or more, covering about 6.25% of American households. 5,671,005 US households have a net worth of $3 million or more, covering about 4.41% of all US households.
6. How many multi-millionaires in the US have $50 million net assets?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
There are a total of 89,510 people in the United States with net assets of at least $50 million. This number equals 50.9% of the ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals over the world.
Obviously, there’s a huge wealth disparity.
7. How many billionaires in the US are there?
(Source: Wealth-X)
According to a census report in 2020, there are 788 billionaires in the United States with a combined net worth of $3.431 trillion. In contrast, the United States had 404 billionaires in 2010.
8. How many millionaires are in Congress?
(Source: Center for Responsive Politics)
There are 229 millionaires in Congress. The exact number is hard to determine since Congress members reveal their finances in ranges. But according to the Center for Responsive Politics, 43% of congress members had a net worth of over $1 million in 2018. That’s 43%, over seven times the national rate of 6%.
What Is a Millionaire?
The most basic definition of millionaire is somebody who has $1 million. But that definition can be misleading. What if a guy has $1 million in cash under his mattress but owes the bank $20 million? Is he still a millionaire? Not really. That’s why we prefer to use the term net-worth millionaire.
Now in order to define net-worth millionaire, we need to first talk about net worth. Here’s a simple way to explain net worth: It’s what you own minus what you owe. If that amount ends up being $1 million or more, you’re a net-worth millionaire. Make sense? Let’s look at an example.
John and Maria have accumulated $750,000 in mutual funds and savings. Their house is worth $350,000, and they own two vehicles worth $12,000 each. Altogether, their assets total $1,124,000. However, they still owe $150,000 on their home, have $10,000 of credit card debt, and owe $20,000 on their student loans. Their liabilities add up to $180,000.
To figure out if they’re net-worth millionaires, let’s subtract what they owe from what they own.
What they own: $1,124,000
What they owe: – $180,000
Net worth: $944,000
In this situation, John and Maria would not meet the definition of net-worth millionaire. They’re close, but they haven’t hit that mark yet.
However, let’s run the numbers again to see what would happen if the couple didn’t have any student loan or credit card debt and they owed $100,000 on their mortgage instead.
What they own: $1,124,000
What they owe: – $100,000
Net worth: $1,024,000
In this situation, John and Maria would be considered net-worth millionaires. And if they got serious about paying off that mortgage—because you never want to take a mortgage with you into retirement—they could invest and save even more.
Are you a net-worth millionaire? Check out our Net Worth Calculator to find out.
What Does a Real Millionaire Look Like?
So we’ve covered what a millionaire is, but what exactly does a real millionaire look like?
Maybe you’re picturing someone who lives in a big house, drives a nice car, and wears expensive clothes. Maybe they even have a good chunk of money in their retirement account. That person could be a real millionaire, but they also might not be. The mortgage lender could own the house, the bank could own the car, and a credit card could have been used to buy the clothes. People can look like a million bucks, but sometimes they’re often one step away from losing it all. Folks, that’s not okay! In fact, it’s a recipe for disaster!
We’d be willing to bet you want you to become a real millionaire—someone who actually has $1 million or more in assets and zero debt weighing them down.
If becoming a millionaire seems impossible, we’ve got some good news for you. Our Ramsey research team conducted the largest study ever done on millionaires, and we found that the vast majority of them are ordinary folks just like you and me. In fact, the top three professions of millionaires were accountants, engineers and teachers! Anyone, on any income, can build wealth. You just need the right plan.
What Does Being a Millionaire Mean Today?
If you ask 10 people what being a millionaire means, you’ll likely get 10 unique answers. But if you were to ask that question a few generations ago, the response would probably have been a little different. That’s because back in the day, having $1 million in the bank meant you could sleep easy at night. For a lot of people, that number was the target to hit. You would have enough money to enjoy your retirement years without worrying.
But that was a long time ago, and two things are different now: cost of living and the length of retirement. Let’s talk about how those have changed the power of $1 million and the definition of wealth over the years.
1. Cost of living
You probably know this, but it’s worth repeating—it costs more to live in 2021 than it did in past decades. For example, $1 million in today’s dollars would have been worth roughly $1.54 million in 2000.(1) Hello, inflation.
And if the inflation rate stays at about 2.5% for the foreseeable future, $1 million today will be $1.63 million in 2031.(2) That means your nest egg will be worth about $600,000 less in 20 years.
Now, why are we throwing these numbers at you? Because you need to plan for cost of living to go up as you get older. Depending on what you want to do in retirement, $1 million may not be enough to live out your retirement dreams.
2. Length of retirement
From 1950–55, the median age of men retiring was about 67 years, and they were expected to live to age 78.(3) Fast-forward to 2018 and the average retirement age is 62.(4) Plus people are expected to live into their 80s.(5) In the 1950s, you had to prepare for a decade of retirement. Today, you could be retired for 20 years or more. That’s a long time to provide for yourself!
For many people today, the classic definition of millionaire is no longer the goal to reach. Rather, they’re working toward having enough to feel financially secure. Let us show you what we mean.
Conclusion
We have recently reported that in Australia, about 3.9% of its adult population is millionaires (or 91,000 people). What’s more? Their ranks are expected to increase by about 10,300 people each year for the next decade. But how many millionaires are there in the world? How does this compare with other countries?