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.

Data from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report shows that in 2023 there were just under 30 million millionaires in the US.

New Jersey has the highest rate of millionaires, with 9.76% of households showing a net worth of $1 million or above. That means that 246,058 New Jersey households are millionaires.

South Africa was home to the highest number of millionaires in Africa as of 2023. The country had 37,400 high net worth individuals (HNWIs), corresponding to roughly one-third of the total number of millionaires on the continent. Second, in rank, Egypt counted 15,600 HNWIs. According to the source, approximately 135,000 HNWIs lived in Africa, each with one 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 nine percent. This means that 11,000 people joined the group of individuals with minimum net assets of one 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 15 billion U.S. dollars. Trillions of U.S. dollars in riches Total private wealth in Africa amounted to 2.1 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 50 percent of Africa’s total wealth in 2021.

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.

In 2023, there were about 5.18 million Black married-couple families living in the United States. This is an increase from 1990, when there were 3.57 million Black married-couple families in the U.S.

In 2023, about 4.34 million people in Minnesota were white. Furthermore, about 408,103 Black people and 366,967 Hispanic or Latino people were living in Minnesota in that year.

As of January 2024, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest people in South Africa with a net worth of 9.6 billion U.S. dollars. The Rupert family are ranked at 224 globally and are the second richest people in Africa after Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, reclaimed the title. Rupert's net worth dropped by 2.2 billion 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 9.4 billion U.S. dollars and ranking at 232 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 2.6 billion U.S. dollars who placed 1,202 globally. Patrice Motsepe, the first black African on the Forbes list and founder of African Rainbow Minerals, ranked 1,208 out of the global billionaires list, with a net worth of 2.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Where does the wealth reside in the continent?

The three largest economies in the continent in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), namely Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa saw the highest concentration of private wealth in the continent, 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 in 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 coefficient of 62.73 percent.