By Chase Smith
The United States produced more new millionaires than any other country in 2024, helping lift the global population of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) by 2.6 percent to 23.4 million, according to Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2025, released this week.
The firm defines HNWIs as people with at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding a primary home and collectibles.
“The great wealth transfer will be a defining moment for the industry,” said Kartik Ramakrishnan, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services Strategic Business Unit and Group Executive Board Member.
“Despite global wealth on the rise, 81 percent of inheritors plan to switch firms within one to two years of inheritance. Potentially losing these unsatisfied clients is going to create significant risk for the global wealth management sector.”
A buoyant U.S. stock market, falling interest rates, and investor excitement over artificial-intelligence firms added an estimated 562,000 American millionaires, a 7.6 percent jump, bringing the nation’s total to 7.9 million, according to the report.
North America as a whole logged the sharpest regional gains as its HNWI headcount rose 7.3 percent and the combined wealth of those individuals grew 8.9 percent.
Across the pond, Europe’s millionaire ranks fell 2.1 percent as sluggish growth in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom erased a combined 76,000 millionaires.
South of the border, Latin America’s tally dropped 8.5 percent amid currency weakness and fiscal strains, with Brazil and Mexico suffering the steepest declines.
While the Middle East slipped 2.1 percent on softer oil prices, and Asia–Pacific regions edged up 2.7 percent, although China’s total dipped 1 percent.
Capgemini reports an even faster expansion among the ultra-rich—people worth at least $30 million—increased 6.2 percent worldwide, reflecting what the authors call “wealth concentration at the top.”
Ultra-high-net-worth portfolios benefited from strong equity markets and a growing appetite for alternative assets such as private equity and cryptocurrencies, which now account for about 15 percent of average HNWI holdings.
Looking ahead, wealth managers face a looming “great wealth transfer.” Capgemini estimates that about $83 trillion will pass from baby boomers to Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z heirs over the next two decades.
Nearly one-third of heirs will inherit by 2030, and more than 80 percent by 2040. Yet 81 percent of inheritors plan to switch firms within two years of receiving assets, posing a retention threat to established advisers.
“The next generation of high-net-worth individuals arrives with vastly different expectations from their parents,” Ramakrishnan added. “This necessitates an urgent shift away from traditional strategies to effectively cater to their evolving needs on this wealth journey. Firms must also prepare to equip advisers with the digital capabilities, potentially augmented with agentic or generative AI, to mitigate the risk of losing both clients and key employees.”
Capgemini says younger HNWIs are more willing to take risk: 61 percent of millennial and Gen Z clients already allocate capital to higher-growth, niche products. They also expect digital tools and concierge-style perks ranging from luxury travel to cybersecurity assistance.
Half of the relationship managers surveyed worry that lacking offices in hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, or Saudi Arabia could push next-generation clients elsewhere.
As for advisers, one in four plans to change employers within 12 months, and nearly half expect to retire by 2040. Capgemini warns that firms must upgrade their technology, such as using artificial-intelligence platforms to streamline tasks—while broadening alternative-asset offerings to keep both clients and talent from walking away.
