Over 21 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 five million top one percent wealth holders globally. France followed in third.

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.

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 Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01134) from Q3 1989 to Q2 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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Minimum Wealth Cutoff for the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1311) from Q3 1989 to Q3 2022 about wealth, percentile, and USA.

Around ** percent of the world's collected net personal wealth belongs to the richest one percent. The share of global wealth owned by the richest percent fell during the global financial crisis in 2008/2009, and has been fluctuating since. One-third of the world's billionaires reside in North America.

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.

As of April 2025, Elon Musk was estimated as the wealthiest person in the United States with a net worth of around 342 billion dollars. Richest people in the United States - additional information Every year since 1982, the American business magazine Forbes has been compiling lists of the 400 richest people in the United States, known as the “Forbes 400.” In addition to that, since 1987, the publication has also been compiling a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world (excluding royalty and dictators), as well as more specialized tops, such as “World's Most Powerful Women,” “America's Richest Families,” “Most Valuable Brands” or “30 Under 30,” which focuses on young entrepreneurs from various fields which have gained millions in the past year by the use of social media, technical innovations and generally new and fresh approaches to business.

In 2016, there were approximately **** thousand millionaires in Pakistan. The number of individuals owning one million U.S. dollars or more in Pakistan is expected to rise to **** thousand by 2026. HNWI forecast in Pakistan Individuals with investible assets of at least one million U.S. dollars in current exchange rate terms are considered high net worth. The number of high-net-worth individuals in Pakistan is expected to rise overall between 2022 and 2028, settling at just under ***** thousand individuals. Countries with the highest millionaire rate In 2021, Switzerland had the highest rate of millionaires in the world, with **** percent of the adult population owning assets worth more than one million U.S. dollars. Luxembourg came in second, with **** percent of the population being millionaires, and Iceland came in third. Furthermore, over ** million people in the United States were among the world's top one percent of ultra-high net-worth individuals in 2021. China came second, with over **** million top one percent wealth holders worldwide.

As of March 2025, Alice Walton was ranked the richest woman with over 97 billion U.S. dollars in net worth. By comparison, the richest man in the world had a fortune of over 328 billion dollars as of March 2025. The philanthropy of MacKenzie Scott MacKenzie Scott has become well known in the world of philanthropy for providing billions to thousands of non-profit organizations. Globally, the United States has the most philanthropic outflows out of any nation, reaching nearly 49 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. By comparison, the country with the second highest philanthropic outflows, the United Kingdom, reached nearly 5.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Across the United States, basic needs, religious and spiritual causes, and healthcare are the sectors affluent individuals have given the most. Wealth in the United States Out of each country, the United States has the most people within the top one percent of ultra-high-net-worth individuals globally, with 21 million residents belonging to this group. By comparison, China ranked second with over five million belonging to the top one percent of ultra-high net worth individuals. Regionally, North America has the most billionaires, reaching over 1,100 followed by Europe and Asia.

Data and insights on Wealth Distribution in India - share of wealth, average wealth, HNIs, wealth inequality GINI, and comparison with global peers.

In 2024, an estimated ******* people in South Korea owned financial assets worth one billion South Korean won or more. This was a year-on-year increase of around one percent. The rise in stock prices was, among other things, the key reason for the jump in the wealth of these millionaires. High-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) in South Korea High-net-worth individuals (HNWI) refer to persons with a net worth of over *********** U.S. dollars including their primary residence. The number of HNWIs in South Korea has risen steadily in recent years. While there were about *** thousand HNWIs in 2016, the number exceeded ******* in 2021 and is expected to double the 2015 figure by 2026. South Korea was among the top 15 countries with the most ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), whose net assets, including their homes, exceed ** million U.S. dollars. Who are the wealthiest people in South Korea? In recent years, South Korea has also seen an increase in the number of billionaires, with the capital Seoul being one of the leading cities in the world with the most resident billionaires. With a net worth of around **** billion U.S dollars, Lee Jae-yong (Jay Y. Lee), executive chairman of Samsung Electronics and son of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, was the wealthiest person in South Korea as of 2024. Seo Jung-jin, the founder of South Korea's biopharmaceutical company Celltrion, followed and led the wealth ranking along with Samsung boss Lee.

As of 2022, from the almost ** million people living in the United Kingdom (UK), ***** people were considered to be U.S. dollar millionaires. ***** UK citizens were thought to be in the top one percent of global wealth holders.

As of September 2023, Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos was the world's richest internet billionaire, with an estimated net worth of 114 billion U.S. dollars. The chief technology officer of the computer software company Oracle, Larry Ellison, ranked second, with a fortune of 107 billion U.S. dollars. Bill Gates, the co-founder of tech giant Microsoft, ranked third in the ranking of internet billionaires, with a net worth of 104 billion U.S. dollars.

Bright future for tech industry

Standing out as one of the most profitable and fastest-growing industries, the tech sector's future looks bright as global spend is forecasted to rise annually until at least 2023, hitting nearly 4.6 trillion U.S. dollars that year. Most of this will come from investment in communication services, followed by IT services. In the aftermath of the global coronavirus pandemic, the software industry was also one of the more resilient tech branches, with approximately 6.6 percent growth forecast in October 2021, second only to the PC/Tablet category.

Amazon and Alphabet are top market players

In the realm of software, Amazon and Alphabet currently top the list of largest internet companies in the world by market capitalization. Starting in 1994 as an online bookstore, the internet giant founded by Jeff Bezos has since grown to offer grocery services, media streaming, e-books and smart home technology, among other products, and is now a leading e-commerce platform worldwide. Meanwhile, Alphabet, the Google brand's parent company, has also risen to be one of the most prominent players on the internet, primarily due partly to noteworthy acquisitions such as YouTube and the Android operating system, which now powers over 70 percent of the world's mobile devices.

The non-financial Annual Sector Accounts (ASA) are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) and are transmitted by the EU Member States, EFTA Members (except Liechtenstein) following ESA2010 transmission programme (Table 8) established by the Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union, annexes A and B respectively).

The ASA encompass non-financial accounts that provide a description of the different stages of the economic process: production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and non-financial accumulation. The ASA record the economic flows of institutional sectors in order to illustrate their economic behaviour and interactions between them. They also provide a list of balancing items that have high analytical value in their own right: value added, operating surplus and mixed income, balance of primary incomes, disposable income, saving, net lending / net borrowing. All of them but net lending / net borrowing, can be expressed in gross or net terms, i.e. with and without consumption of fixed capital that accounts for the use and obsolescence of fixed assets.

In terms of institutional sectors, a broad distinction is made between the domestic economy (ESA 2010 classification code S.1) and the rest of the world (S.2). Within S.1 and S.2, in turn, more detailed subsectors are distinguished as explained in more detail in section "3.2 Classification system".

Data are presented in the table "Non-financial transactions" (nasa_10_nf_tr).

The table contains data, as far as they are available, expressed in national currency and millions of euro in current prices.

In line with ESA2010 Transmission programme requirements data series start from 1995 (unless subject to voluntary transmission option and/or country specific derogations). Countries may transmit longer series on voluntary basis.

Available level of detail by sectors and transactions may also vary by country due to voluntary transmission of some items (as defined in ESA2010 transmission programme) and country specific derogations.

ASA collected according ESA2010 Transmission programme include selected data on employment (in persons and hours worked) by institutional sectors. However, as transmission of these variables is voluntary (except for the sector of General government), data availability may vary significantly across countries.

A set of key indicators, deemed meaningful for economic analysis, is available in the table "Key indicators" (nasa_10_ki) for most of the members of the European Economic Area (EEA), of the Euro area and EU.

Key ratios are derived from non-financial transactions as follows:

• Gross household saving rate (S.14_S.15): B8G/(B6G+D8rec-D8pay)*100;
• Gross investment rate of households (S.14_S.15): P51G/(B6G+D8rec-D8pay)*100;
• Gross investment rate of non-financial corporations (S.11): P51G/B1G*100;
• Gross profit share of non-financial corporations (S.11): B2G_B3G/B1G*100;
• Total investment to GDP ratio (S.1): P51G/B1GQ*100;
• Business investment to GDP ratio: (S.11_P51G+S.12_P51G)/B1GQ*100;
• Government investment to GDP ratio: S.13_P51G/B1GQ*100;
• Households investment to GDP ratio: (S.14_S.15_P51G)/B1GQ*100.

With the following transaction codes:

• B8G - Gross saving;
• B6G - Gross disposable income;
• D8rec / D8pay - the adjustment for the change in pension entitlements (receivable / payable);
• P51G - Gross fixed capital formation;
• B1G - Gross value added;
• B1GQ – Gross domestic product;
• B2G_B3G - Gross operating surplus/ mixed income.

In the above, all ratios are expressed in gross terms, i.e. before deduction of consumption of fixed capital.

The following key indicators are calculated in real or nominal terms:

• Real growth of household adjusted disposable income per capita (percentage change on previous period, S.14_S.15): B7G/(POP_NC*Price Deflator);
• Nominal growth of household adjusted disposable income per capita (percentage change on previous period, S.14_S.15): B7G/(POP_NC);
• Real growth of household actual consumption per capita (percentage change on previous period, S.14_S.15): P4/(POP_NC*Price Deflator).

With the following codes (the codes already described above have not been listed):

• B7G - Gross adjusted gross disposable income (adjusted for social transfers in kind);
• P4 - Actual final consumption (adjusted for social transfers in kind);
• POP_NC - Total population national concept (source:Quarterly national accounts, Eurobase domain namq_10_pe);
• Price deflator - Price index/implicit deflator calculated as CP_MEUR/CLV10_MEUR – both indicators refer to households and NPISH final consumption expenditure (P31_S14_S15) (source: Quarterly national accounts, Eurobase domain namq_10_gdp).

The following key indicators combine non-financial with financial accounts:

• Gross return on capital employed, before taxes, of non-financial corporations (S.11): [B2G_B3G/(AF2+AF3+AF4+AF5, liab)]*100;
• Net debt-to-income ratio, after taxes, of non-financial corporations (S.11): ([(AF2+AF3+AF4, liab)/(B4N-D5pay)]*100);
• Net return on equity, after taxes, of non-financial corporations (S.11): [(B4N-D5pay)/(AF5, liab)]*100
• Gross debt-to-income ratio of households (S.14_15): [(AF4, liab)/(B6G+D8net)]*100;
• Household net financial assets ratio (BF90/(B6G+D8net)).

With the following codes (the codes already described above have not been listed):

• B4N - Net entrepreneurial income;
• D5pay - Current taxes on income and wealth;
• AF2 - Currency and deposits;
• AF3 - Debt securities (excluding financial derivatives);
• AF4 - Loans;
• AF5 - Equity and investment fund shares;
• BF90 – Financial net worth.

"rec" means resources, that is transactions that add to the economic value of a given sector.

"pay" means "uses", that is transactions that reduce the economic value of a given sector.

"liab" refers to the stock of liabilities incurred by a given sector and recorded in the financial balance sheets.

See also the sector accounts dedicated website for more information.

In Europe, the variation in average amounts of financial wealth per adult varied considerably as of 2022, from approximately ******* U.S. dollars in Switzerland to roughly ***** U.S. dollars in Azerbaijan. In Europe, the overall average financial wealth per adult as of 2022 was ****** U.S. dollars. In terms of private wealth, Europe held the second highest value in the world, after North America. What is financial wealth? Financial wealth, also known as financial assets or liquid assets can include wealth that an individual has in the forms of cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and bank deposits. In addition to financial wealth, wealth can also be measured in other assets, called non-financial wealth. This includes physical assets, such as real estate, land, vehicles, jewelry, and art, just to name a few. Where do most wealthy individuals live? Individuals with a net worth over *********** U.S. dollars are called high-net worth individuals (HNWI). The United States was the home country to the highest number of HNWIs in 2021. China followed, although their number of HNWIs did not even reach ********* of the number in the United States. In Europe, Switzerland is the country with the highest average financial wealth per adult, but with its small population size, the number of HNWIs does not come near the numbers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy – the European countries with the highest number of HNWIs. Considering Switzerland’s small population size, however, it is the country in the world with the highest proportion of millionaires.

Goal 10Reduce inequality within and among countriesTarget 10.1: By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national averageIndicator 10.1.1: Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total populationSI_HEI_TOTL: Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita (%)Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other statusIndicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilitiesSI_POV_50MI: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%)Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regardIndicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights lawVC_VOV_GDSD: Proportion of population reporting having felt discriminated against, by grounds of discrimination, sex and disability (%)Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equalityIndicator 10.4.1: Labour share of GDPSL_EMP_GTOTL: Labour share of GDP (%)Indicator 10.4.2: Redistributive impact of fiscal policySI_DST_FISP: Redistributive impact of fiscal policy, Gini index (%)Target 10.5: Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulationsIndicator 10.5.1: Financial Soundness IndicatorsFI_FSI_FSANL: Non-performing loans to total gross loans (%)FI_FSI_FSERA: Return on assets (%)FI_FSI_FSKA: Regulatory capital to assets (%)FI_FSI_FSKNL: Non-performing loans net of provisions to capital (%)FI_FSI_FSKRTC: Regulatory Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets (%)FI_FSI_FSLS: Liquid assets to short term liabilities (%)FI_FSI_FSSNO: Net open position in foreign exchange to capital (%)Target 10.6: Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutionsIndicator 10.6.1: Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizationsSG_INT_MBRDEV: Proportion of members of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)SG_INT_VRTDEV: Proportion of voting rights of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policiesIndicator 10.7.1: Recruitment cost borne by employee as a proportion of monthly income earned in country of destinationIndicator 10.7.2: Number of countries with migration policies that facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of peopleSG_CPA_MIGRP: Proportion of countries with migration policies to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, by policy domain (%)SG_CPA_MIGRS: Countries with migration policies to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, by policy domain (1 = Requires further progress; 2 = Partially meets; 3 = Meets; 4 = Fully meets)Indicator 10.7.3: Number of people who died or disappeared in the process of migration towards an international destinationiSM_DTH_MIGR: Total deaths and disappearances recorded during migration (number)Indicator 10.7.4: Proportion of the population who are refugees, by country of originSM_POP_REFG_OR: Number of refugees per 100,000 population, by country of origin (per 100,000 population)Target 10.a: Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreementsIndicator 10.a.1: Proportion of tariff lines applied to imports from least developed countries and developing countries with zero-tariffTM_TRF_ZERO: Proportion of tariff lines applied to imports with zero-tariff (%)Target 10.b: Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmesIndicator 10.b.1: Total resource flows for development, by recipient and donor countries and type of flow (e.g. official development assistance, foreign direct investment and other flows)DC_TRF_TOTDL: Total assistance for development, by donor countries (millions of current United States dollars)DC_TRF_TOTL: Total assistance for development, by recipient countries (millions of current United States dollars)DC_TRF_TFDV: Total resource flows for development, by recipient and donor countries (millions of current United States dollars)Target 10.c: By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per centIndicator 10.c.1: Remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remittedSI_RMT_COST: Remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remitted (%)SI_RMT_COST_BC: Corridor remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remitted (%)SI_RMT_COST_SC: SmaRT corridor remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remitted (%)

Facebook probably needs no introduction; nonetheless, here is a quick history of the company. The world’s biggest and most-famous social network was launched by Mark Zuckerberg while he was a...