Would you have ever believed that a 6 year old could be a millionaire? It’s absolutely true (thanks to vast amounts of ways to create an income on the internet these days).
But what about the rest of the world? Is there more wealth today than ever? Or are the prosperous just a select few? Here’s our central question: “How many people in the world are millionaires?” And can any one of us become a millionaire? And most importantly…how can we do it? Beyond the central question, we’ll also be tackling a wide variety of similar questions that are often asked as well:
- What country has the most millionaires?
- How many new millionaires were there in 2021?
- How many millionaires are under 30?
- And, how many millionaires are Black?
And then of course, this article wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t also talk about people that are worth $100 million and $1 billion. What percentage of the world do these people make up? Get ready for a fire hose of information here! Time to dive in!
Note: Ready to invest? Sick of the volatile stock market? Check out the cool alternative options below from trusted affiliate partners!
- Vinovest: Invest in wine!
- Fundrise: Invest in real estate investments with as little as $10!
- Crowdstreet: Invest in online private equity real estate!
- YieldStreet: For high-income earners only. Invest in art, real estate, legal finance, etc.
How Many Millions Do You Need to Be a Millionaire?
Before we start talking about millionaires, hundred millionaires, and billionaires…we should first define what we’re talking about here.Â
- What is a millionaire?
- How many millions do you need to be a millionaire?
Put simply, a millionaire is someone that has a net worth of $1 million dollars. That means if you total up all their assets and subtract their debts, they have a million dollars or more to their name. (ie. They are worth a million dollars.)Â
Here’s an example of a typical millionaire today:
- House value: $400,000
- House debt: -$100,000
- Car values: $30,000
- Savings: $100,000
- Retirement: $700,000
- Total Net Worth: $1,130,000
When you add up all the assets and subtract the debt, the above person is worth over a million dollars, which means he/she is a millionaire.
What Country Has The Most Millionaires in 2022?
Now that we know what a millionaire is, what country has the most millionaires in 2022? Based on the latest list by Statista, the countries with the most millionaires (ranked #1 to #10) are below:
- United States
- China
- JapanÂ
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- France
- Australia
- Canada
- Italy
- Spain
How Many Millionaires in the United States?
So how many millionaires are there in the United States? And how does that compare to other countries? Again, according to Statista, there are nearly 22,000,000 millionaires in the United States today. And, the US has (by far) the most millionaires vs. any other country.
How Many Millionaires in China?
What about the #2 country? How many millionaires are there in China? Surprisingly, it’s nowhere close to the United States. In China, there are approximately 5,300,000 millionaires, which is basically one-quarter of the number of millionaires in the United States.
How Many People in the World Are Millionaires?
If there are 22,000,000 millionaires in the United States and 5,300,000 millionaires in China, how many more millionaires are out there? How many people in the world are millionaires?
According to Investopedia, 56.1 million people are millionaires in the world today. This means that the United States accounts for nearly 40% of all the millionaires in the entire world!
What Percentage of the World Are Millionaires?
The next obvious question then beyond ‘how many people in the world are millionaires’ is… “What percentage of the world are millionaires?” Based on the helpful stat from Investopedia, we know that there are 56.1 people that are millionaires.Â
And, according to Worldometers, there are 7.9 billion people in the world today. Using simple math, this means that only 0.7% of the world population are millionaires. So, if you are currently a millionaire, your wealth ranks in the upper 1% of the entire world! That’s unbelievable! You should feel soooo blessed to be in the position you’re in.
How Many New Millionaires in 2020?
According to the Credit Suisse global wealth report, there were 56.1 million millionaires in 2020. In the year prior, there were just 50.9M millionaires. Over just one year, this was an increase of 5.9 million individuals that transitioned into millionaire status.
So, if that was 2020, how many new millionaires are there in 2021? Since the year isn’t quite closed out, we’ll probably need to wait a few more months for that official answer. But, 2021 has been quite a prosperous year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the world added another 6 million millionaires.
How Many New Millionaires Every Day?
Let’s say that 2021 added 5.9 million millionaires just like we saw in 2020. If that is indeed the case, how many new millionaires are there every day? Again, simple math here. That’s 5.9 million / 365 days.Â
- That’s 16,164 new millionaires every day
- Which is 673 new millionaires every hour
- Annnd that’s 11 new millionaires every second!
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, roughly 50 new millionaires are made in the world. That’s pretty crazy!!
How Many Multi-Millionaires Are There in the World?
Alright, so we know that there are 56.1 million millionaires in the world today, but how many multi-millionaires are there in the world?
What is a multi-millionaire?
First off, what is a multi-millionaire? There are actually many definitions, oddly enough. But, the most logical, and the one I see most often is the 2 million dollar mark. If you’re worth more than $2 million, then you effectively have more than $1 million dollars and are considered a multi-millionaire.
How many multi-millionaires are there in the United States?
Now that we know what a multi-millionaire is, how many multi-millionaires are there in the United States? According to DQYDJ, there are roughly 8 million people in the United States that are worth $2 million dollars or more. Since there are 22 million millionaires in the United States, this means that 36% of millionaires are multi-millionaires within the U.S.
How many multi-millionaires are there in the world?
It’s a bit strange, but the estimates on the number of multi-millionaires in the world are seemingly non-existent (I checked, and checked, and…checked some more). So we’re going to have to estimate this one on our own based on the data we know.Â
- If 36% of the millionaires in the United States are multi-millionaires, then let’s assume that ratio holds true for the rest of the world as well.
- Since there are 56.1 million millionaires in the world today (as of 2021), we can assume that roughly 36% of that number are multi-millionaires.
- So, 36% x 56.1 million = 20.2 million.
There are likely 20.2 million multi-millionaires in the world today. This equates to about 0.25% of the entire world.
How Many Millionaires Under 30?
According to Statista, most millionaires are between 60 and 79 years old. Not a big shocker there, right? They’ve been saving and investing all their lives. Now, they’ve finally made it to millionaire status and ready to retire.
But what about young millionaires? How many millionaires are under 30? Of all the millionaires in the United States, roughly 8% of them are age 30 and under. So, if you’re in this category, congrats! You’re well on your way to becoming a very wealthy individual.
How Many Millionaires Are Black?
Stats often show that the African American population is lagging when it comes to income and wealth. Is that true? How many millionaires are black? And how does it compare to the White and Asian population? According to Statista:
- 76% of millionaires are White
- 8% of millionaires are Black
- 8% of millionaires are Asian
- 7% of millionaires are Hispanic
In case you’re wondering about the ratio of the population by race:
- Whites made up 65% of the U.S. population
- Blacks are 13% of the U.S. population
- Asians are 7% of the U.S. population
- Hispanics/Latinos are 17% of the U.S. population
So, Whites have disproportionately more millionaires than their population ratio, Blacks and Hispanics have disproportionately less millionaires, and Asians have roughly the appropriate proportion.
How Many Black Millionaires in the World?
This again, is a figure that isn’t well known. Based on the above stats, there are 1,760,000 black millionaires in the United States.
But how many black millionaires are there in the world? Take that same ratio from the U.S. and overlay it on the millionaire numbers for the world, and we can estimate that there are roughly 4.5 million Black millionaires in the world.
How Many 100 Millionaires in the World?
Many people realize that a million dollars isn’t what it used to be. If you had $1 million in 1900, that would be like having $33 million dollars today. So, instead of asking about millionaires, perhaps you want to know about those people that are worth $100 million dollars or more! How many 100 millionaires are there in the world?
According to DQYDJ, there are about 34,500 people worth $100 million or more in the United States. These individuals represent the top 0.03% of the country. But how many people are worth $100 million in the world? Roughly 85,000.
How Many Billionaires in the World?
Alright. Time to step in up a notch! How many billionaires are there in the world? According to the Wealth Inequality Report of 2022, there are 2,750 billionaires in the world. So out of 7.9 billion people, only 2,750 are billionaires. These people are in the top 0.00003% for wealth. Now that’s elite!
How Many People in the World Are Millionaires…And Can You Become One Too?
And there you have it. You wanted to know how many people in the world are millionaires. You now know that figure AND WAY MORE.
- There are 56.1 million millionaires in the world today
- 20.2 million multi-millionaires
- 85,000 $100 millionaires
- and 2,750 billionaires
Now the next natural question — Can you become a millionaire yourself? Or a multi-millionaire? Or perhaps even more? Is it possible for you? And if so, how can you do it?
How to Become a Millionaire Yourself
Want to become wealthy? Wondering how to become a millionaire? If you’re young (under 40 years old), I’d personally do it the simple way:
- Pay off all your consumer debt as fast as possible
- Save up a 6 month emergency fund
- Start stashing 20%+ of your income into investments (I personally invest in S&P 500 index funds)
- And then just do that consistently for life. You’ll likely be left with $1 million to $5 million by the time you retire (depending on your income of course)
Want a job that pays a million dollars a year? Here’s the typical list to do just that.
- CEO
- Athlete
- Actor
- Banker
- Writer
- Law Firm Partner
Can’t check any of those boxes? How else can you become a millionaire fast? To become a millionaire fast, you’ll have to think a bit differently…
- Invent an in-demand product
- Start a business and expand it quickly
- Develop and sell a slew of online courses
- Become a popular blogger with one of these top paying topics
- Start a YouTube channel and become the most interesting man/woman on earth 😉
And, if you think something else could make you a million bucks in a short period of time (and it’s not super risky or illegal), go for it! There are plenty of other ways to make a million dollars that are not on the above list. Find them, act on them, and make your million bucks!
Sources
See all
$1,000,000 in 1900 → 2023 | Inflation Calculator. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1900?amount=1000000
Breakdown of U.S. millionaires by race/ethnicity 2013 | Statista. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/300528/us-millionaires-race-ethnicity/
Countries with the most affluent people 2021 | Statista. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/268411/countries-with-the-most-millionaires/
Global Wealth Report – Credit Suisse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html
(2020, September 30). How Many Millionaires Are There in America? – DQYDJ. DQYDJ – Don’t Quit Your Day Job… https://dqydj.com/millionaires-in-america/
The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars Of 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/12/18/the-highest-paid-youtube-stars-of-2020/
The Number of Millionaires Continues to Increase. (n.d.). Investopedia. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/news/number-millionaires-continues-increase/
The World InequalityReport 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide: (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://wir2022.wid.world/
World Population Clock: 8 Billion People (LIVE, 2023)—Worldometer. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/