Curious about who makes up the 1%? We did a deep dive into the most fascinating millionaire statistics (and billionaires) to give you an idea of who the world’s wealthiest are, how much they’re worth, and how they got there.
To paint a clear picture, we’ve broken down our data into people, demographics, and trends.
Top Millionaire Statistics
- According to Forbes, Bernard Arnault is the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $233 billion.
- There are approximately 59.4 million millionaires worldwide.
- There are approximately 22 million millionaires in the United States and 735 billionaires.
- The US has the highest number of millionaires overall, but Switzerland has the most millionaires in the world per capita.
- The majority of US millionaires are 60-79 years old.
- According to Statista, around 87% of US billionaires are male.
Wealthiest People
According to data from the Forbes World Billionaire’s List, these individuals are the wealthiest of the wealthy. In this section, we’ll look at who tops the list worldwide and in the US.
Who Are the World’s Wealthiest People?
In 2023, there were 2,640 billionaires worldwide. Seven of the top 10 wealthiest people are from the United States.
Here’s a breakdown of the world’s wealthiest and what they do:
| Name | Networth | Company |
| Bernard Arnault | $233 billion | LVMH |
| Elon Musk | $195 billion | Tesla, SpaceX |
| Jeff Bezos | $194 billion | Amazon |
| Mark Zuckerberg | $177 billion | |
| Larry Ellison | $141 billion | Oracle (software) |
| Warren Buffet | $133 billion | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Bill Gates | $128 billion | Microsoft |
| Steve Ballmer | $121 billion | Microsoft |
| Mukesh Ambani | $116 billion | Diversified |
| Larry Page | $114 billion |
Wealthiest People in the United States in 2024
When we isolate the list of the world’s wealthiest Americans, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Mark Zuckerberg join the list.
- Elon Musk
- Jeff Bezos
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Larry Ellison
- Warren Buffet
- Bill Gates
- Steve Ballmer
- Larry Page
- Sergey Brin
- Michael Bloomberg
Wealthiest Women in the United States in 2024
| Name | Networth | Company/Industry |
| Alice Walton | $72.3 billion | Walmart |
| Julia Koch and family | $64.3 billion | Koch Industries |
| Jacqueline Mars | $38.5 billion | Mars (candy) |
| MacKenzie Scott | $35.6 billion | Amazon |
| Miriam Adelson & family | $32 billion | Las Vegas Sands (casinos) |
| Abigal Johnson | $29 billion | Fidelity Investments |
| Elaine Marshall | $24.5 billion | Koch Industries |
| Diane Hendricks | $20.9 billion | ABC Supply |
| Christy Walton | $13.6 billion | Walmart |
| Laurene Powell Jobs | $12.8 billion | Apple, Disney |
When looking at the world’s top 50 wealthiest people overall, the following women are included:
- Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
- Alice Walton
- Julia Koch
- Jacqueline Mars
- Mackenzie Scott
- Savitri Jindal
- Rafaela Aponte-Diamant
Millionaire Demographics
Here’s a look into the demographics of millionaires in the US and abroad. We’ll look at millionaires through lenses like gender, age, location, and ethnicity.
At least 87% of billionaires in the US—and the world—are men.
Around one-third of America’s millionaires are women, but there is a larger discrepancy when it comes to billionaires.
According to Statista, this is the breakdown of billionaires by gender:
Most millionaires in the US are 60-79 years old.
More data published by Statista suggests two-thirds of US millionaires are 60-79 years old.
Another 23% of Americans with a net worth of $1 million or more are 50-59, with a small percentage of millionaires being 40 or younger.
Approximately 1.79 million of the 22 million millionaires in the US are under 30.
New Jersey has the highest ratio of millionaire households in the US.
9.76% of households in New Jersey had at least $1 million in assets, according to the Statista Research Department’s 2022 study.
According to this data, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Hawaii have the most millionaires per capita in the United States.
College-educated white and Asian people may have the highest odds of becoming a millionaire in the US.
Researchers from the St. Louis Fed set out to estimate how ethnicity impacts your likelihood of becoming a millionaire, analyzing data from the Federal Reserve’s previous Surveys of Consumer Finances in a Bloomberg report.
They determined the odds of becoming a millionaire in the US as a middle-aged person with a Bachelor’s degree by race:
- Asian: 16%
- White: 18%
- Hispanic: 4%
- Black: 3%
Their data suggests that the biggest wealth gap is between black and white Americans with graduate degrees. While a graduate degree increases a white American’s odds of becoming a millionaire to 38%, it only increases a black graduate degree holder’s odds to 6%.
62% of millionaires received their degrees from a state school or public university.
The majority of millionaires in the US (88%) have a college degree. But according to Ramsey Solutions’ National Study of Millionaires, nearly 2/3 of millionaires graduated from a public university or a state school.
Only 8% of millionaires obtained their degrees from an elite or Ivy League school.
More millionaires have graduate degrees than members of the general public.
On the topic of education, the study did find that 52% of millionaires have earned a Masters or a Doctorate degree. To compare, 13% of the general population report having a graduate degree.
Most millionaires got there by investing in an employer-sponsored 401k plan rather than inheriting money or earning high salaries.
Some people assume most wealthy individuals were born with a silver spoon, but the numbers disagree. 79% of the Ramsey Solutions Study’s millionaires said they received zero inheritance from their parents or relatives.
In fact, 8 out of 10 millionaires featured in the survey said they made their fortune by investing in their company’s 401k.
And 70% of respondents said they didn’t even make six-figure salaries during their careers.
Most millionaires don’t serve in leadership positions at companies.
The survey busted open even more misconceptions about millionaires, revealing that only 15% of millionaires serve(d) in senior-level positions like CEO, CFO, or VP at their companies.
Out of the 10,000 millionaires featured in the survey, these were the top 5 most common careers:
- Engineer
- Accountant
- Manager
- Teacher
- Attorney
Traits of American Millionaires
So what do millionaires have in common? According to a study from Coldwell Banker Luxury, here’s a profile of the average US millionaire.
Millionaire Statistics: Trends and Projections
In this section, we’ll recap some big-picture data points and present the outlook for millionaires in the future.
The number of millionaire households in the US has steadily climbed every year since 2009.
Take a look at the change in the number of millionaire households in the US over 15 years from Statista. Excluding the Great Recession of 2008, the number of millionaires in the country has increased every year.
In 2013, the number of millionaire households surpassed the previous record set in 2007.
The number of millionaires in the US is predicted to keep climbing through 2025.
Credit Suisse predicts the number of millionaires in the United States will increase by 13% by the year 2026.
The number of people with more than $50 million declined in 2023.
Alongside the growth in millionaire households, there was a major increase in ultra-high-net-worth individuals over the last few years that took a recent turn, according to Credit Suisse.
The 2023 Global Wealth Report indicates that there were 243,060 ultra-high-net-worth people—individuals who have a net worth of $50 million or higher, down 22,500 from the previous year’s report.
How Much Money Do the World’s Millionaires Have?
To give you some perspective, here’s an overview of the wealth range of today’s millionaires, using data from the Global Wealth Report:
The US gained the most UNHNW individuals in the last year, making a major contribution to the over $50 million club.
It will be interesting to see how the millionaire community grows and changes in the years to come as more households reach millionaire status.
Bottom Line
Millionaires come from all walks of life and careers, and there’s more potential now than ever to become a millionaire.
And the great news is that most millionaires don’t start out with an inheritance or an Ivy League degree.
As the survey shows, becoming a millionaire takes hard work and investing in your future. With a solid financial strategy in place, becoming a millionaire might be more achievable than you thought.
Millionaire Statistics Sources:
- World’s Billionaires List, Forbes
- 2022 Global Wealth Report, Credit Suisse
- 2023 Global Wealth Report, Credit Suise
- Countries with the Highest Proportion of Millionaires in 2020, Statista
- Distribution of Billionaires in the United States by Gender, Statista
- Distribution of Billionaires Around the World in 2021 by Gender, Statista
- American States with the Highest Ratio of Millionaire Households, Statista
- Chances of Becoming a Millionaire, Financial Samurai
- The National Study of Millionaires, Ramsey Solutions
- A Look at Wealth 2019, Coldwell Banker Luxury
