The ultra-wealthy just gained $49 trillion in wealth thanks to stocks

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

The global population of people worth $30 million or more increased 8% in 2023, with much of the growth coming from the U.S., according to a new report.

There are now 426,330 individuals worth $30 million or more, known as ultra-high-net worth (UHNW) individuals, according to Altrata’s World Ultra Wealth Report 2024. Their total wealth surged by 7% to $49 trillion in 2023, helped mainly by the year-end stock rally.

In the U.S., the ultra-high-net-worth population increased 13%, to 147,950, meaning the U.S. now accounts for a third of the world’s ultra-high-net worth population. 

Over the next five years, the UHNW population is expected to grow by 38% to 587,650, according to the report. Their combined fortunes will rise by $19 trillion — creating a massive new opportunity for companies that cater to the ultra-wealthy, according to the report.

“The market for personal luxury goods and lifestyle services has expanded rapidly, driven by the more varied interests and demands of a progressively diverse global UHNW population,” the report said. “There has been a similar trend across high-end real estate around the world, alongside an increasing focus on family wealth transfer planning and legacy transition amid a surge in first-generation wealth.”

The ultra-wealthy accounted for $118 billion in luxury spending in 2023, or about a third of the global luxury spending, according to the report. They have $38 trillion in investable assets (also about a third of the total) and account for $190 billion in charitable giving, representing 38% of all philanthropy.

New York has the world’s largest population of people worth $30 million or more, with 16,630. Hong Kong ranked second, with 12,546, followed by Los Angeles with 8,955 and Tokyo with 6,445.

The report said expected interest rate cuts and emerging growth industries are likely to continue to power UHNW wealth creation this year and next.

“There will be new and varied opportunities for wealth generation and asset diversification,” the report said. “These will be underpinned by structural trends such as the green-energy transition, advances in digitalization, expanded industrial incentives, rising urbanization and female labor participation in emerging markets, the ‘premiumization’ of consumption, and broadening adoption of generative AI.'”

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