In 2016, around 15.2 percent of all White families in the United States had a net worth of one million U.S. dollars or more. This compares to only 1.9 percent of Black families.

The statistic shows the distribution of U.S. millionaires in 2013, by race and ethnicity. As of 2013, about 76 percent of U.S. millionaires were White/Caucasian.

Additional information on racial income inequality

The issue of racial inequality in regards to income and wealth has been a problem through the entirety of the history of the United States. The statistic above demonstrates how the percentage of millionaires that identify as Black/African Americans is disproportionate to the share of the population overall. While the disproportionate number of millionaires demonstrates an undesirable degree of income inequality it is at the bottom of the wealth ladder within American society that the issue is most pressing. The overrepresentation of African Americans in contrast to the population in unemployment statistics are cause for concern on the part of the government and society as a whole. In 2014, nearly 25 percent of surveyed families who placed themselves in the income bracket of under ten thousand dollars identified as black.

The percentage of non-white female business owners perhaps demonstrates that barriers to wealth exist but are diminished in unison. As barriers to wealth generation are removed for women, similar barriers are also being broken to allow for greater equality in the economic opportunities offered across the population of the United States. A central issue for policy makers is the time delay associated with policies aimed at reversing these inequalities. This was reflected in the 2015 Democratic and Republican presidential primary campaigns. Despite many major candidates discussing the issue none put forward meaningful proposals to address the problem. Even Senator Bernie Sanders who made addressing income inequality the cornerstone failed to separate the issue from income inequality generally. However, the global attention gained by movements such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ shows issues of racial inequality are prominent in the discourse of sections of the wider population if not forming a cornerstone of the political discourse in the United States.

Total private wealth in Africa amounted to 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, with the number of African billionaires reaching 21 billionaires. In 2023, the richest individual in Africa was the Nigerian Aliko Dangote. Founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer in the whole African continent, the billionaire also owns salt and sugar manufacturing companies.

South Africa was home to the highest number of millionaires in Africa as of 2023. The country had ****** high net worth individuals (HNWIs), corresponding to roughly ********* of the total number of millionaires on the continent. Second, in rank, Egypt counted ****** HNWIs. According to the source, approximately ******* HNWIs lived in Africa, each with *** million U.S. dollars or more net assets, excluding government funds. The wealth value refers to assets such as cash, properties, and business interests held by individuals living in a country with fewer liabilities. The rich in Africa Compared to 2020, the number of African millionaires increased by nearly **** percent. This means that ****** people joined the group of individuals with minimum net assets of *** million U.S. dollars. The number of centi- and multimillionaires has increased as well. In 2022, the Nigerian Aliko Dangote held the title of the wealthiest person in Africa. Founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer in the whole African continent, the billionaire also owns salt and sugar manufacturing companies. His net worth is estimated at nearly ** billion U.S. dollars. Trillions of U.S. dollars in riches Total private wealth in Africa amounted to *** trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, a slight increase from 2020. That year, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had led to job losses, drops in salaries, and the closure of many local businesses. Compared to other African countries, South Africa concentrated the largest private wealth. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya completed the leading wealth markets. The five nations accounted for over ** percent of Africa’s total wealth in 2021.

In 2020, California had the highest number of millionaire households in the U.S., with **** million households having one million or more in investible assets. This is nearly double the ******* millionaire households in Texas, the state with the second-highest number.

This statistic shows the number of millionaire households in the United States from 2006 to 2020. As 2020, the number households with a net worth of one million U.S. dollars or more (excluding primary residence) stood at 11.6 million, up from 11 million in 2019.

In 2023, there were around 748 billionaires in the United States. This was a slight increase from the previous year's total of 704, and a significant increase from the 66 billionaires in 1990.

A dataset listing the richest zip codes in North Carolina per the most current US Census data, including information on rank and average income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Virginia for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025, the United States housed the highest number of billionaires worldwide in 2025. In detail, there were *** billionaires living in the United States as of January that year. By comparison, *** billionaires resided in China. India, the United Kingdom, and Germany were also the homes of a significant number of billionaires that year. United States has regained its first place As the founder and exporter of consumer capitalism, it is no surprise that the United States is home to a large number of billionaires. Although China had briefly overtaken the U.S. in recent years, the United States has reclaimed its position as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Moreover, North America leads the way in terms of the highest number of ultra high net worth individuals – those with a net worth of more than ***** million U.S. dollars. The prominence of Europe and North America is a reflection of the higher degree of economic development in those states. However, this may also change as China and other emerging economies continue developing. Female billionaires Moreover, the small proportion of female billionaires does little to counter critics claiming the global economy is dominated by an elite comprised mainly of men. On the list of the 20 richest people in the world, only one was a woman. Moreover, recent political discourse has put a great amount of attention on the wealth held by the super-rich with the wealth distribution of the global population being heavily unequal.

As of January 2024, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest people in South Africa with a net worth of 11.1 billion U.S. dollars. The Rupert family are ranked at 216 globally and are the second richest people in Africa after Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, reclaimed the title. Rupert's net worth dropped by seven million U.S. dollars from 2023, mainly due to a decline in the market value of luxury goods company Richemont, where he owns an estimated 9.14 percent stake. Nicky Oppenheimer and his family placed as the second richest in South Africa, with a net worth of 9.5 billion U.S. dollars and ranking at 276 worldwide. Their net worth source was mostly founded via the diamond market. They were followed by Koos Bekker, the chairman of media group Naspers, with 3.1 billion U.S. dollars who placed 1,133 globally. Patrice Motsepe, the first black African on the Forbes list and founder of African Rainbow Minerals, ranked 1,140 out of the global billionaires list, with a net worth of three billion U.S. dollars. Where does the wealth reside in the continent? The three largest economies on the continent in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), namely Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa saw the highest concentration of private wealth, with South Africa ranking first when it came to private wealth. In fact, out of Africa’s 20 wealthiest families and individuals, 14 of them were from these economies. Since 2010, the number of high net worth individuals on the continent fluctuated peaking at 148 individuals in 2017 and reaching its lowest in 2020 at 125. High net worth individuals are people whose net assets exceed one million U.S. dollars. On the other hand, South Africa suffered from severe income inequality ranking as the most unequal country in the world with a Gini index of 0.63 points.

South Africa concentrated the largest amount of private wealth in Africa as of 2021, some 651 billion U.S. dollars. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya followed, establishing the five wealthier markets in the continent. The wealth value referred to assets, such as cash, properties, and business interests, held by individuals living in each country, with liabilities discounted. Overall, Africa counted in the same year approximately 136,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs), each with net assets of one million U.S. dollars or more.

 COVID-19 and wealth constraints  

Africa held 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars of total private wealth in 2021. The amount slightly increased in comparison to the previous year, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to job losses, drops in salaries, and the closure of many local businesses. However, compared to 2011, total private wealth in Africa declined 4.5 percent, constrained by poor performances in Angola, Egypt, and Nigeria. By 2031, however, the private wealth is expected to rise nearly 40 percent in the continent.

 The richest in Africa 

Besides 125 thousand millionaires, Africa counted 6,700 multimillionaires and 305 centimillionaires as of December 2021. Furthermore, there were 21 billionaires in the African continent, each with a wealth of one billion U.S. dollars and more. The richest person in Africa is the Nigerian Aliko Dangote. The billionaire is the founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer on the whole continent. He also owns salt and sugar manufacturing companies.

David Thomson and family had a total net worth of 72.7 billion U.S. dollars, representing the richest in Canada in 2024. Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and executive chairman of Binance, is the second-richest person in Canada, with a net worth of 63.7 U.S. dollars.

As of January 2023, Aliko Dangote was the richest man in Africa. He had a net worth of around 13.5 billion U.S. dollars and ranked 128th worldwide. From Nigeria, he is the founder and chairman of the Dangote Group, a large conglomerate operating in several sectors including cement and sugar. The South African Johann Rupert and family followed as the second-richest people in Africa, with a net worth of 10.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Dangote Group continues to expand

Founded in 1981, the Dangote Group (Dangote Industries Limited) is among the largest conglomerates in Africa. Its main subsidiary, Dangote Cement Plc, is the main cement manufacturer on the African continent. The business went public in 2010 and is the largest company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In addition to the cement industry, the Group also manufactures and processes food products, such as sugar, flour, and salt. With Nigeria being the leading African country for oil production, Dangote expanded his business into the oil industry in recent years. For this purpose, the Group built Africa’s biggest oil refinery near Lagos, Nigeria.

Africa’s wealthiest countries

Wealth in Africa is concentrated in a few countries and, within those, in a few families. Counting the highest numbers of billionaires, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria are the wealthiest nations, having also the largest gross domestic products (GDPs) in Africa. These countries count the highest number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), which amounts to over 39,000 in South Africa. Not surprisingly, Johannesburg and Cape Town have the highest concentration of private wealth in Africa. Moreover, South Africa has the highest wealth per capita after Mauritius.

Dieter Schwarz, according to Forbes, was the wealthiest person in Germany as of 2025, with assets amounting to around 38.5 billion U.S. dollars. Dieter Schwarz is the owner of the Schwarz Gruppe, which owns both the supermarket chains Kaufland and Lidl. Klaus-Michael Kühne follows in second place. Among other things, he is the majority owner of the logistics company Kühne + Nagel International AG. Who are the richest people in Germany? Dieter Schwarz is the owner of the Schwarz Gruppe, which owns both the supermarket chains Kaufland and Lidl. In 2023, the Schwarz Gruppe recorded around 56.55 million euros in revenue. Karl Albrecht Jr. is the owner of the popular discount grocery store chain Aldi Süd. As of 2023, there were over 2,000 Aldi Süd stores in Germany. This, of course, does not include all the stores in other countries such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia, just to name a few. German salaries Germany currently has the highest GDP in Europe. However, this does not mean that everyone in Germany is a billionaire. The average salary is, in fact, around 48,380 euros. Although the trend is that German salaries have been on the rise since 2000, there has been a dip since 2019. This is probably due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation of 2022.