The U.S. has rapidly overwhelmed China as the world’s top spot for millionaires and billionaires, according a new report.
There are now more than 5.5 million Americans with liquid investible assets of more than $1 million, up 62% over the past decade and well above the global growth rate of 38%, according to the 2024 USA Wealth Report from Henley & Partners and New World Wealth.
Over the past five years, the population of millionaires in the U.S. has grown 35%, nearly twice as fast as China’s. The U.S. is now home to 37% of the world’s millionaires, up from 35% in 2018.
The divergence grows even more at the top of the wealth ladder. The U.S. has 9,850 centi-millionaires — those worth $100 million or more — compared with China’s 2,352. The U.S. has about 788 billionaires to China’s 305.
“The USA remains the world’s undisputed leader in private wealth creation and accumulation,” according to the report.
Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley, said the strict Covid lockdowns in China coupled with increases in its government intervention in the private sector have slowed the growth in wealth creation.
“China has certainly slowed a lot due to these elements and the U.S. has benefited,” he said.
The shift from China to the U.S. is also reflected in wealth migration patterns. A net 13,500 Chinese millionaires left China in 2023, marking a new record. The U.S. had a net inflow of 2,200 millionaires in 2023 and a projected inflow of 3,500 in 2024, according to the Henley report.
