UBS report details how U.S. lost 1.8 millionaires last year

Marcus Baram
Author Marcus Baram

Marcus Baram is a contributing editor at Crain Currency, where he covers the intersection of finance and politics. Prior to joining Crain Currency, Baram was a staff writer at Fast Company and an editor at Huff Post. He has also written for outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Vice. Baram is an expert on economic policy and has a deep understanding of the ways in which politics shapes the global financial system. In his role at Crain Currency, he brings a unique perspective to the complex and ever-evolving world of finance. With his keen analysis and clear writing, Baram helps readers make sense of the important issues impacting the economy today.

Aug 21, 2023
1 year ago

They're calling it the "richcession" — global wealth has dropped for the first time since 2008, and more than 3.5 million people around the world lost their status as millionaires in 2022 due to high inflation and the collapse of many currencies against the dollar, according to the Global Wealth Report 2023 by UBS and Credit Suisse.

The number of millionaires in the U.S. dropped by 1.8 million, to 22.7 million. But there are still far more millionaires in the U.S. than any other country, followed by China with 6.2 million.

This excerpt of the report focuses on ultra-high-net-worth individuals:

A further breakdown of the UHNW group reveals 79,490 adults with wealth above USD 100 million at the end of 2022, of which 7,020 are worth more than USD 500 million. The regional breakdown of the UHNW group as a whole is dominated by North America with 128,470 members (53%), while 40,090 (17%) live in Europe, 32,910 (14%) in mainland China and 27,700 (11%) in Asia-Pacific countries, excluding China and India. Among individual countries, the United States leads by a considerable margin with 123,870 members, equivalent to 51% of the world total (see Figure 6). Mainland China is a clear second with 32,910 UHNW individuals, followed by Germany (9,100), India (5,480) and Canada (4,560). Russia (4,490), the United Kingdom (3,980), Japan (3,930), France (3,890) and Australia (3,780) make up the remaining top 10 countries ranked by UHNW numbers. 

North America accounted for 70% of the record rise of UHNW individuals in 2021 and was even more dominant in 2022, accounting for 18,290 (81%) of the 22,500 adults whose wealth fell below USD 50 million. Numbers also fell in Europe by 3,800 and in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding China and India) by 1,705. The small declines in China and Africa were offset by a small gain in India, while the number of UHNW adults rose by 1,280 in Latin America, according to our figures. 

The United States shed the most UHNW members (17,260) in 2022. This was fewer than the number gained in 2021, so there was a net increase over the two years. Germany (–1,340), Canada (–1,040), Australia (–910) and Sweden (–900) also experienced considerable losses. UHNW numbers edged slightly upward in a number of countries, with India, Brazil and Russia recording the biggest increases — although wealth trends in Russia are difficult to determine at this time.

Marcus Baram
Author Marcus Baram

Marcus Baram is a contributing editor at Crain Currency, where he covers the intersection of finance and politics. Prior to joining Crain Currency, Baram was a staff writer at Fast Company and an editor at Huff Post. He has also written for outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Vice. Baram is an expert on economic policy and has a deep understanding of the ways in which politics shapes the global financial system. In his role at Crain Currency, he brings a unique perspective to the complex and ever-evolving world of finance. With his keen analysis and clear writing, Baram helps readers make sense of the important issues impacting the economy today.