Global wealth growth highlights widening U.S. and global inequality

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Global wealth growth & inequality

Highlights

UBS reports the top 1.5% of the global population now holds nearly half of world wealth, with those owning over $5 million capturing most 2023 gains.
In the U.S., average adult wealth is projected at $696,277 versus median wealth of $68,998 (down 20%), underscoring the world’s sixth-highest wealth inequality score.
Despite overall global wealth growth, a K-shaped U.S. economy persists through 2026 as stock market gains benefit the wealthy while inflation and high gasoline prices hurt lower-income groups.

UBS data shows gains concentrated at the top

As reported by Business Insider, citing UBS, strong financial markets help drive last year's increase in personal wealth, with the top 1.5% of the global population holding nearly half of the world's total wealth. The report says people with more than $5 million in assets capture a large share of those gains, widening the divide between the wealthiest households and everyone else.

The disparity is visible in the gap between average and median wealth across regions. In the U.S., average wealth per adult ranks second globally and reaches $696,277 from 2020 to 2025, while median wealth ranks 28th and falls 20% to $68,998 over the same period. UBS says the U.S. has the world's sixth-highest wealth inequality score.

The report says averages can be skewed by a relatively small number of very wealthy individuals, making populations appear better off than they are. That dynamic helps explain why headline wealth growth does not translate into broader financial improvement for many households.

2026 pressures and technology shifts shape outlook

Although the UBS report measures wealth through the end of 2025, it says several of these trends continue into 2026. In the U.S., a K-shaped economy remains in place as wealthy households keep benefiting from a strong stock market, while inflation and high gasoline prices weigh more heavily on lower-income families.

The uneven distribution of gains is also feeding political and social backlash against billionaires. At the same time, artificial intelligence is intensifying concerns over how future wealth will be created and distributed, while advances in nuclear fusion, mRNA technology and longevity science may further reshape the global wealth landscape.

Joel Mokyr, a professor of economics and history at Northwestern University quoted in the report, says those technologies are approaching and could have an impact on society and the economy equal to or greater than AI. Even so, UBS says the share of the global population with less than $10,000 in assets keeps shrinking, falling from nearly 75% in 2000 to 41% now, while the U.S. creates more than 1,200 millionaires a day last year.

In our earlier coverage of the Working Families Tax Cuts, we outlined the U.S. Treasury’s first filing-season data showing more than $82 billion in tax relief by the April deadline. The department said the benefits were concentrated among low- and middle-income filers, with most recipients earning under $200,000 and millions claiming deductions such as No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, and the enhanced Child Tax Credit.

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