The push of artificial intelligence to financial markets helped the United States beat the world in millionaire growth last year, when its ranks increased by 600,000.
That's more than the population of Baltimore, bringing the total number of Americans who have at least $1 million in investable assets, not including their primary residence, to 7.5 million, CNBC reported citing data from a Paris-based consulting firm get it.
The 7.3% increase in the number of American millionaires last year helped North America regain the world's highest millionaire growth rate from the Asia-Pacific region.
Asia saw millionaire growth of 4.8%, while in Europe the number of millionaires increased by 4%. The number of millionaires in Latin America increased by 2.7% last year and by 2.1% in the Middle East. Africa saw a 0.1% drop, according to Capgemini.
The wealth of all American millionaires combined was about $26 trillion. The number of people with a net worth of $30 million or more also reached around 100,000, and they have a cumulative net worth of around $7.4 trillion.
Tech and AI Stocks Drive Rise in Millionaires
The million-dollar growth rate in the United States was driven in part by a jump in the stock market led by technology and artificial intelligence companies. The S&P 500 index it shot up 24% last year thanks in part to investor optimism about the future of AI.
AI chip supplier NVIDIA led the index with a profit of 239% in 2023. Goal and teslaTwo other tech giants involved in AI rose 194% and 102%, respectively, last year. Goldman Sachs estimates that investment in AI could reach $200 billion globally by 2025.
The stock market gains that helped add so many millionaires in 2023 have persisted so far this year, as the S&P 500 and the technology sector Nasdaq The index hit all-time highs this week. The S&P 500 is up about 12% so far this year and some of the biggest AI players, such as Nvidia and microsofthave seen their shares continue to rise in 2024.
