Rising averages conceal deep household inequality.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — July 2026.
Global private wealth increased sharply in 2025, delivering its strongest annual expansion since 2017 and extending the recovery for a third consecutive year. The UBS Global Wealth Report 2026 estimated that personal wealth rose by 10.8 percent in United States dollar terms, compared with 4.6 percent in 2024. Europe, the Middle East and Africa recorded the fastest regional increase, with combined wealth advancing by 17.5 percent. The figures point to a strong global recovery in asset values, but they also reveal major differences between countries, regions and social groups.
The Americas recorded wealth growth of 8.5 percent, while the Asia-Pacific region expanded by 5.9 percent during the same period. North America nevertheless remained the world’s wealthiest region, with average wealth of approximately 660,000 dollars per adult. Western Europe exceeded 330,000 dollars per adult, while the United States reached 696,277 dollars, more than twice the Western European level. These comparisons show that Europe experienced stronger recent growth without closing the accumulated wealth gap with North America.
Currency movements played an important role in the European increase because the euro strengthened against the United States dollar during the reporting period. When wealth measured in local currencies is converted into a weaker dollar, international comparisons can show substantial gains even without equivalent improvements in purchasing power. Eastern Europe registered the strongest increase within the wider European, Middle Eastern and African region, with wealth rising by 28.3 percent. The Middle East and Africa grew by a more moderate 6.6 percent, underlining the unequal nature of the regional performance.
The number of dollar millionaires also reached a new global record after almost one million people joined that category during 2025. This increase represented approximately 2,600 new millionaires every day and expanded the worldwide millionaire population by around 1.5 percent. The United States alone added more than 440,000 millionaires, accounting for nearly half of the global increase. Together, the United States and mainland China continued to hold more than half of all private wealth worldwide.
Germany presents one of the report’s most striking contradictions because it combines a large millionaire population with relatively weak wealth among ordinary households. Approximately 2.6 million dollar millionaires live in Germany, placing the country among the world’s largest concentrations of affluent individuals. Average wealth reached 346,613 dollars per adult, giving Germany fourteenth place internationally and positioning it slightly ahead of France. That average, however, is heavily influenced by large fortunes concentrated at the upper end of the distribution.
Median wealth offers a different and more revealing picture because it identifies the point at which half the adult population owns more and half owns less. Germany’s median wealth stood at only 53,485 dollars per adult, the lowest level among the thirty countries included in the report’s leading group. The gap between average and median wealth indicates that German assets are distributed unevenly despite the country’s industrial strength, export capacity and high national income. It also suggests that the economic security commonly associated with Germany does not translate automatically into broad household ownership.
Spain performed more favorably when median wealth was considered, even though its average wealth remained below Germany’s. Average Spanish wealth reached 306,412 dollars per adult, placing the country twentieth in the global ranking. Median wealth stood at 111,575 dollars, more than twice Germany’s figure and enough to place Spain seventeenth among the markets analyzed. Residential property ownership appears to provide a broader base of household wealth in Spain, although it can also leave families heavily exposed to changes in housing prices.
Belgium ranked second worldwide for median wealth, suggesting that its private assets are distributed more broadly than in many larger European economies. Switzerland placed first for average wealth at 910,382 dollars per adult, while also holding eighth position for median wealth. Luxembourg led the median ranking with 394,005 dollars, illustrating the exceptional asset concentration and income structure of a small financial center. These differences demonstrate why national wealth cannot be understood through a single average figure or the number of millionaires alone.
The report also found that higher wealth groups expanded particularly quickly, especially among individuals holding between five million and one hundred million dollars. Financial-market participation helped these households benefit from rising asset prices, while residential property remained the principal source of wealth for many less affluent families. This distinction matters because property wealth is less liquid and may not provide the same capacity to diversify, invest or respond to economic shocks. Future wealth growth may therefore depend increasingly on access to financial assets rather than home ownership alone.
Europe’s strong headline performance offers reasons for confidence, but it does not resolve questions about distribution, affordability or economic mobility. Germany’s position shows how a wealthy country can produce millions of affluent individuals while leaving the typical household with comparatively modest net assets. Spain’s stronger median result illustrates how property ownership can widen the asset base, although it does not necessarily guarantee income security or financial resilience. The central issue is no longer only how much wealth Europe creates, but how widely that wealth is owned and whether future growth can reach beyond the top of the distribution.
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