Global millionaire wealth hit a record $98.3 trillion in 2025 and Africa grew faster than the Middle East

Global wealth held by high-net-worth individuals reached a record $98.3 trillion in 2025, rising 8.7 percent from the prior year in the largest single-year increase since 2018, driven by strong equity markets, AI-linked technology stock gains and easing inflation, according to the 30th edition of the Capgemini Research Institute's World Wealth Report 2026, released on June 4.

The global millionaire population grew by nearly 2 million individuals to reach 25.3 million, the fastest expansion in five years. The ultra-high-net-worth segment, comprising individuals with investable assets above $30 million, led the gains for the second consecutive year, with its global population rising 9.4 percent to approximately 250,000 individuals, a record high.

Africa posted HNWI population growth of 4.1 percent in 2025, outperforming the Middle East, whose HNWI population contracted 1.4 percent as lower oil prices, regional conflict and labour market strain weakened activity across several Gulf economies. Within Africa, Morocco was the standout performer, registering the fastest HNWI population growth on the continent at 16.8 percent, a figure that reflects the kingdom's expanding financial services sector, rising real estate values and growing ultra-wealthy cohort drawn from its diversified private sector. The Capgemini report cited higher precious metal prices as a key driver of HNWI wealth creation across the African continent.

North America posted the strongest regional wealth growth overall at 9.9 percent, with the United States adding 736,000 new millionaires to reach an HNWI population of 8.7 million, more new millionaires than any other single market globally. Equity allocations in US HNWI portfolios climbed from 22 percent in January 2025 to 27 percent in January 2026 as AI-driven technology stock gains concentrated wealth at the top end of the income distribution.

The headline wealth figures mask a structural crisis building inside the wealth management industry. Between 2022 and 2025, an estimated $1.5 trillion in new assets under advice flowed away from traditional established wealth managers to competitors, as high-net-worth clients increasingly spread their relationships across multiple providers. Only 17 percent of HNWIs told Capgemini their wealth advisory experience had been seamless and personalised, a figure that underscores the gap between what the industry delivers and what its clients expect.

Advisors themselves identified the same pressure from the inside. With 41 percent of relationship manager time consumed by operational and administrative tasks, 76 percent said they wanted AI-enabled systems to automate routine work. The report found that when wealth management firms get the customer experience right, 53 percent of satisfied clients recommend their firm to others and 47 percent consolidate more assets at that institution, directly expanding wallet share. The firms failing to personalise at scale are losing both new assets and existing relationships.

Alternative investments slipped three percentage points to 12 percent of HNWI portfolios globally, compressed not by a retreat in demand but by faster appreciation in public equities. Two in three HNWIs told Capgemini they still intend to increase their private equity exposure over the coming year, suggesting the allocation shift is cyclical rather than structural.

For Africa's wealth management industry, the Capgemini report arrives as a confirmation of the continent's HNWI growth trajectory at a moment when global private banks and asset managers are paying closer attention to the African ultra-wealthy than at any point in the last decade. Morocco's 16.8 percent growth rate, if sustained, would make it one of the fastest-growing HNWI markets in the world within a five-year window.