In 2023, roughly 1.49 billion adults worldwide had a net worth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. By comparison, 58 million adults had a net worth of more than one million U.S. dollars in the same year. Wealth distribution The distribution of wealth is an indicator of economic inequality. The United Nations says that wealth includes the sum of natural, human, and physical assets. Wealth is not synonymous with income, however, because having a large income can be depleted if one has significant expenses. In 2023, nearly 1,700 billionaires had a total wealth between one to two billion U.S. dollars. Wealth worldwide China had the highest number of billionaires in 2023, with the United States following behind. That same year, New York had the most billionaires worldwide.

Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1246) from Q3 1989 to Q2 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

With a net worth of 342 billion U.S. dollars, Elon Musk, the cofounder of seven companies, such as electric car maker Tesla and the rocket producer SpaceX, was the wealthiest man in the world in March 2025. The wealthiest people in the world Marc Zuckerberg, the cofounder of Meta Platforms, came second with a wealth of 235.6 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos followed in third. All the 10 richest people in the world were men. Wealth distribution worldwide As of 2022, one percent of people held nearly half of the world's combined wealth. Moreover, 2.8 billion of the world's population hold a combined wealth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars, compared to 59 million people having a combined wealth of 1 billion dollars or more, underlining the vast inequalities around the world. Where do the most affluent people live? Most millionaires live in the United States, while Hong Konk was the city hosting the largest number of high net worth individuals worldwide. The country with the highest number of billionaires is China.

Billionaires with a net worth over 50 billion U.S. dollars had a combined net worth of nearly two trillion dollars in 2023. Billionaires with a fortune of two to five billion U.S. dollars had the highest combined total wealth, nearly reaching three trillion U.S. dollars. That year, there were 18 persons with a fortune of over 50 billion dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Level (ROWTNWA027N) from 1945 to 2024 about net worth, IMA, liabilities, and Net.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01134) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

In the first quarter of 2025, almost two-thirds percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 percent of the total wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. Despite the idea that the United States is a country where hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will inevitably lead to success, this is often not the case. In 2023, 7.4 percent of U.S. households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars. With such a small percentage of people in the United States owning such a vast majority of the country’s wealth, the gap between the rich and poor in America remains stark. The top one percent The United States was the country with the most billionaires in the world in 2025. Elon Musk, with a net worth of 342 billion U.S. dollars, was among the richest people in the United States in 2025. Over the past 50 years, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio has exploded, causing the gap between rich and poor to grow, with some economists theorizing that this gap is the largest it has been since right before the Great Depression.

Over ** million individuals residing in the United States belonged to the global top one percent of ultra-high net worth individuals worldwide in 2022. China ranked second, with over **** million top one percent wealth holders globally. France followed in third.

Graph and download economic data for Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Transactions (BOGZ1FU262100005A) from 1946 to 2024 about net worth, IMA, transactions, liabilities, World, Net, and USA.

In 2023, by far the highest number of individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars worldwide were residing in North America, reaching over ******* people. Asia recorded the second highest number of UHNWIs in the world with over ******* individuals.A small share owns vast sums of wealthThe vast majority of global wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Only *** percent of the global population owns assets worth more than *** million U.S. dollars. The richest people in the world are Elon Mask, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault. When it comes to women, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers led the ranking of the most affluent women worldwide. The wealth of over ** percent of UHNWIs was self-made. Where UHNWIs live and where they leave Unsurprisingly, as North America is the world region with the highest number of UHNWIs, the United States is the country with the highest UHNWI count. However, Hong Kong, special administrative (SAR) region in China, is the city with the highest number of UHNWIs. Nevertheless, China was the country that recorded the highest outflux of UHNWIs in 2022.

In 2024, Switzerland led the ranking of countries with the highest average wealth per adult, with approximately ******* U.S. dollars per person. The United States was ranked second with an average wealth of around ******* U.S. dollars per adult, followed by Hong Kong SAR. However, the figures do not show the actual distribution of wealth. The Gini index shows wealth disparities in countries worldwide. Does wealth guarantee a longer life? As the adage goes, “money can’t buy you happiness,” yet wealth and income are continuously correlated to the quality of life of individuals in different countries around the world. While greater levels of wealth may not guarantee a higher quality of life, it certainly increases an individual’s chances of having a longer one. Although they do not show the whole picture, life expectancy at birth is higher in the wealthier world regions. Does money bring happiness? A number of the world’s happiest nations also feature in the list of those countries for which average income was highest. Finland, however, which was the happiest country worldwide in 2022, is missing from the list of the top twenty countries with the highest wealth per adult. As such, the explanation for this may be the fact that a larger proportion of the population has access to a high-income relative to global levels. Measures of quality of life Criticism of the use of income or wealth as a proxy for quality of life led to the creation of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Although income is included within the index, it also has other factors taken into account, such as health and education. As such, the countries with the highest human development index can be correlated to those with the highest income levels. That said, none of the above measures seek to assess the physical and mental environmental impact of a high quality of life sourced through high incomes. The happy planet index demonstrates that the inclusion of experienced well-being and ecological footprint in place of income and other proxies for quality of life results in many of the world’s materially poorer nations being included in the happiest.

Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Bottom 50% (1st to 50th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLB50107) from Q3 1989 to Q2 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

Analysis of ‘World's Billionaires’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/seriadiallo1/world-billionaires on 30 September 2021.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

The richest people in the world, yearly rank from 2002 to 2021

This dataset contains 200 rows and 7 columns.

The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the world's wealthiest billionaires compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists. This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding and ranking against those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained. (wikipedia)

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

In 2023, ******* individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars were residing in the *************, by far the highest number of any country. By comparison, *****, which had the second highest number of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), had less than 100,000 individuals with assets amounting to ** million U.S. dollars or more.Place of residence of ultra high net worth individuals The residency of almost half of the world’s ultra high net worth individuals in the United States explains the dominance of North America in regard to the number of ultra high net worth individuals by region. Hong Kong was the city with the most UHNWIs in 2022, followed by New York, London, and Los Angeles. Source of wealth and gender differences A majority of the world's UHNWIs are self-made. However, looking at billionaires, there is a clear difference between men and women; whereas a majority of billionaire men were self-made, a majority of the women had inherited their fortune.

United States Net Worth: Rest of the World data was reported at 110.729 USD bn in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of -59.927 USD bn for Dec 2017. United States Net Worth: Rest of the World data is updated quarterly, averaging -0.163 USD bn from Dec 1951 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 266 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 905.522 USD bn in Sep 2008 and a record low of -420.115 USD bn in Jun 2009. United States Net Worth: Rest of the World data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.AB074: Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts: Total Economy and Sectors: Selected Aggregates.

In 2023, 225,000 individuals with net assets of at least 30 million U.S. dollars were residing in the United States, by far the highest number of any country. By comparison, China, which had the second highest number of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), had less than 100,000 individuals with assets amounting to 30 million U.S. dollars or more.Place of residence of ultra high net worth individuals The residency of almost half of the world’s ultra high net worth individuals in the United States explains the dominance of North America in regard to the number of ultra high net worth individuals by region. Hong Kong was the city with the most UHNWIs in 2022, followed by New York, London, and Los Angeles. Source of wealth and gender differences A majority of the world's UHNWIs are self-made. However, looking at billionaires, there is a clear difference between men and women; whereas a majority of billionaire men were self-made, a majority of the women had inherited their fortune.

As of March 2025, Elon Musk had a net worth valued at 328.5 billion U.S. dollars, making him the richest man in the world. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos followed in second, with Marc Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, in third. The list is dominated by Americans, and Alice Walton and Francoise Bettencourt Meyers are the only women among the 20 richest people worldwide.

United States - Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Level was 60636482.00000 Mil. of $ in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Level reached a record high of 60636482.00000 in April of 2025 and a record low of 12328.00000 in October of 1946. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Level - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Rest of the World; Total Liabilities and Net Worth (IMA), Level (ROWTNWQ027S) from Q4 1945 to Q2 2025 about net worth, IMA, liabilities, and Net.

Elon Musk was the billionaire whose fortune increased the most during the COVID-19 pandemic. September 2019 to the same month in 2022, the world's richest man added a total of 231.1 billion U.S. dollars to his net worth. With 37.5 billion dollars, Larry Page added the second highest value to his net worth during the time under consideration. On the other hand, Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg recorded a loss of nearly 12 billion U.S. dollars during the time period.