Britain minted 43,000 new millionaires in 2025 as average wealth fell

The UK created more than 43,000 new US dollar millionaires in 2025, even as the average Briton grew poorer in real terms.

UBS reported that the UK added 43,139 dollar millionaires during 2025, a rise of 1.8%, lifting the total to 2.428 million in its Global Wealth Report 2026.

That gives Britain the fifth-largest millionaire population in the world, behind the United States, mainland China, Japan and Germany.

The world minted close to one million new dollar millionaires in 2025, a 1.5% increase, or more than 2,680 a day.

The United States accounted for almost half of them, creating 441,078 new millionaires at a rate of over 1,200 per day. Eastern Europe led on growth rate, with Lithuania up 8% and Türkiye up 6.4%. Not one of the 56 markets ended 2025 with fewer millionaires than it started with.

Dollar millionaires now make up around 4.5% of the UK adult population, placing Britain among the higher-density markets alongside France.

Rising house prices, not rising incomes

The millionaire count sits awkwardly against the wider picture, in which UK average wealth per adult fell 23.2% in real terms between 2020 and 2025, the steepest decline UBS recorded.

Part of the millionaire increase reflects property rather than cash. Owner-occupied housing is the single biggest asset for most people up to the USD 1 million to 5 million range, and the report noted that rising property valuations push people into millionaire status without any increase in disposable income. Housing only generates liquid wealth once a property is sold.

The dollar measurement also plays a role, since the count is taken in US dollars and flattered when sterling strengthens against the greenback.

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