UBS Report Finds Record Wealth Growth in 2025 Amid Rising Global Inequality

Personal wealth worldwide increased by 10.8% in 2025, marking the fastest pace of growth in several years, according to UBS in its annual Global Wealth Report. This was a sharp acceleration compared with previous years, following increases of 4.6% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2023.

The growth was largely driven by strong performance in financial markets.

UBS estimates that nearly one million new US dollar millionaires were created globally in 2025. In its wording, the bank noted there were “more millionaires than ever, everywhere” during the year.

The United States accounted for a particularly large share of this increase, with more than 440,000 individuals becoming new US dollar millionaires. This represented almost half of the global growth in millionaires, according to the report.

The bank also highlighted regional differences in wealth growth. It found that wealth measured in US dollar terms grew disproportionately quickly in Europe, a movement largely attributed to the depreciation of the US dollar against the euro during the year.

Despite the overall increase in average wealth, UBS reported a widening gap in wealth distribution since 2020. It stated that inequality has deepened “since 2020” and that median wealth—an indicator that better reflects the financial situation of the middle segment of the population—declined in most countries. This trend was presented as evidence of a growing divide between the wealthiest individuals and the broader population.

For its analysis, UBS examined 56 markets, which it estimates together represent more than 92% of global wealth.

By fLEXI tEAM