Global personal wealth expanded by 10.8% in 2025, marking the largest annual increase since 2017, according to a new report from UBS.
The surge added nearly one million new millionaires to the global population, underscoring the continued concentration of wealth among high-net-worth individuals as equity markets rallied throughout the year.
The wealth growth was primarily fueled by capital gains in stock markets, which significantly outpaced inflation and wage growth.
UBS noted that the performance gap between US and European equities widened further, with US markets delivering disproportionate returns that drove the bulk of the global wealth increase.
This divergence has been a recurring theme in recent market cycles, with US tech and growth stocks leading the charge.
The report highlights the growing disparity between asset owners and those reliant on labor income.