From the Netherlands to the US, discover the top five regions with the highest proportion of millionaires per 1,000 people living there
By
Around the world, there are approximately 58 million millionaires – representing around 1.5 per cent of the global population. Combined, this group holds $226trillion in wealth.
But where exactly do these millionaires live? Read on to find out, in reverse order, the regions with the highest number of millionaires per 1,000 people…
5) Netherlands – 82.9
Back in 2024, 5.5 per cent of households in the Netherlands had assets worth one million euros or more – totalling 452,000 households. An uptick of 17,000 from the year prior, this meant that the Netherlands was officially home to more millionaires than ever before.
Nearly 40 per cent of millionaire households in the nation get most of their income from their pension, with the rest deriving most of their income from work.
4) United States – 84.8
In 2024, the US added a thousand new millionaires a day to its population. In total, the nation hosts more than six million millionaires, accounting for roughly 39 per cent of the world’s millionaire population.
Inflating values of assets such as homes and stocks – as well as rising incomes – have made it much easier to become a millionaire in the country.
According to a 2019 survey, most millionaires in the US live in New Jersey (9.75 per cent), Maryland (9.72 per cent), Connecticut (9.44 per cent), Massachusetts (9.38 per cent) and Hawaii (9.20 per cent).
3) Australia – 85.2
One 2024 report conducted by the Finder’s Wealth Building found that one in eight Australians are millionaires, one of the highest figures globally.
Of the millionaires across the country, a significant proportion became so through the growing value of their homes.
Australian investors who have more than $1million in net wealth are much more likely to have at least one passive income source, with 85 per cent of them earning interest on their savings, compared to just 48 per cent of Australians who do not invest.
At the end of 2022, Australia was also home to 36 billionaires.
2) Hong Kong – 96.1
As a leading global financial centre, Hong Kong ranks second with one of the highest densities of millionaires in the world. One study by HSBC estimated around six per cent of respondents already hit the HK$10million by the age of 45.
One in every 176 individuals in Hong Kong is estimated to have a net worth of more than $10million.
1) Switzerland – 145.6
Around one in seven adults are a millionaire in the nation – an estimated 384,000 to 500,000 households fall under the umbrella in a population of 8.4 million.
The wealth gap is substantial in Switzerland: the top 20 per cent earn almost five times more than the bottom 20 per cent.
Back in 2016, the median monthly salary stood at around $6,500 – but when factoring in the high prices for food and living (some of the priciest in Europe), it is just enough to cover the high cost of living.
