The U.S. is minting more millionaires than ever. Here's why.

The U.S. minted 736,000 caller millionaires past year, bringing the full fig of Americans with specified wealthiness to a grounds 8.7 million, according to a caller report.

Millionaire wealthiness is measured by investable assets, excluding individuals' superior residences, collectibles, consumables and user durable goods, consulting steadfast Capgemini said successful its World Wealth Report 2026, released Thursday. The fig of U.S. millionaires is the highest since Capgemini started tracking wealthiness trends 3 decades ago, the institution told CBS News. 

The banal marketplace was a superior operator of the surge successful caller millionaires, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising astir 18% and 21% past year, respectively. Wealthy Americans besides accrued their equity allocations past twelvemonth by astir 5 percent points, from 22% to 27% of their portfolios, boosting their wealth, Capgemini said.

The leap successful the fig of millionaires besides underscores a widening disagreement successful the U.S. betwixt low- and high-income households arsenic galore Americans conflict to afford the outgo of living. Households earning beneath $50,000 a twelvemonth are progressively gloomy, portion those with incomes supra $100,000 are showing greater confidence, according to Apollo main economist Torsten Slok.

"This divergence is apt driven by lower-income households worrying astir rising state prices, portion higher-income households are focusing connected rising banal prices," Slok wrote successful a May 6 blog post.

When your banal portfolio and 401(k) are surging — with the S&P 500 scale up 10.6% truthful acold successful 2026 — it's easier to consciousness bully astir your finances. Yet astir fractional of Americans lack entree to a status plan, leaving them to grapple with precocious state prices and elevated ostentation without the buffer of rising concern wealth.

Who is the emblematic U.S. millionaire?

While Capgemini didn't cod demographic information connected U.S. millionaires, different probe offers penetration into affluent Americans.

The emblematic recently minted millionaire is simply a Gen Xer oregon babe boomer with overmuch of their wealthiness tied up successful status investments, according to fiscal services radical Empower. Americans typically transverse the millionaire threshold successful their 50s oregon 60s, with 60-somethings holding mean status assets of $1.2 million, the radical said successful a report.

Millionaires besides stock a fewer behavioral traits, Empower found. For one, 95% ain their ain home, compared with astir 66% of the wide U.S. population.

Although Capgemini excluded superior residences from their analysis, erstwhile probe shows a beardown nexus betwixt homeownership and wealth. Homeowners had an mean nett worthy of $1.5 cardinal successful 2022, compared with $154,000 for renters, according to the astir caller Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. 

Still, becoming a millionaire whitethorn not transportation the aforesaid cachet arsenic it did a decennary oregon 2 ago, erstwhile it was considered the people of wealth. Today, Americans judge they request to person an mean of $5.3 cardinal successful wealthiness to beryllium considered "financially successful," Empower found.

Edited by Alain Sherter

In:

• wealth gap