Global Wealth Surges as Inequality Widens
While global wealth grew by 11% last year, the benefits remained largely locked at the top, leaving the vast majority of the population behind. A new report from UBS reveals that the wealthiest 1.5% of people now control nearly 50% of the world's total assets, deepening the divide between the rich and everyone else.
Financial markets fueled substantial gains for those holding more than $5 million in assets, obscuring the stagnation felt by lower-income households. The United States serves as a stark case study of this divergence: while average wealth per adult climbed 10% to $696,277 by 2025, median wealth plummeted 20% to $68,998. The nation now carries the sixth-highest wealth inequality score globally.
Economic historians note that emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, and mRNA science threaten to further concentrate capital, even as the global population in the lowest wealth bracket—those with under $10,000—continues to shrink. Despite the broader K-shaped recovery, the US added over 1,200 new millionaires daily last year, highlighting a landscape where headline growth figures fail to reflect the lived reality of most citizens.
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