Dec 25, 2025
More than 1,000 people a day became millionaires in the U.S. in 2024, according to UBS (1). The country has been adding people to the seven-figure club at such a relentless pace that the club is no longer exclusive.
Today, there are more than 24 million people across the country with a net worth exceeding $1 million. That’s roughly one in every 11 adults (2). The surge in U.S. millionaires may appear puzzling amid headlines of economic strain.
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However, it seems the main drivers behind the growing seven-figure club are inflation and surging home values rather than rising prosperity. In fact, many of these new millionaires don’t actually feel rich at all.
Here’s a closer look at what’s actually happening.
Digging into the numbers
To understand the numbers in UBS’ report, it’s important to understand how the investment bank calculated its findings. Unlike some other wealth reports, the UBS team includes the value of a person’s primary residence in their net worth calculation.
The surge in house prices across the U.S. in recent years pushed many ordinary people living in relatively ordinary homes to become millionaires on paper. In the five years to January 2025, the median U.S. home price increased an astounding 45%, according to Redfin (3).
“The increase in real estate values is the most significant factor driving the growth in everyday millionaires across the world,” wrote UBS in its report.
The trouble with housing wealth is that it’s typically illiquid. It’s not necessarily easy, quick or cheap to sell the home you and your family live in to access its cash value. Moreover, if you sell it, the money you receive will likely be needed to buy another home to live in.
In reality, many millionaires in the U.S. are only rich on paper. In terms of spending, they have nowhere near those figures. According to Bloomberg, households with a net worth ranging from $1 million to $2 million had 66% of it tied up in their home and illiquid retirement accounts in 2023 (4).
With so much of their wealth trapped in illiquid assets, it’s easy to see why many millionaires feel asset-rich and cash poor.
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Millionaires don’t feel affluent
The clearest sign that millionaire status has lost its luster is that many people in the seven-figure club no longer consider themselves affluent. According to a 2025 survey by Northwestern Mutual, only 36% of U.S. millionaires consider themselves “wealthy” (5).
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Lifestyle inflation and the rising cost of living could be the reason why so many wealthy Americans still feel like they’re struggling to get by.
Alisha Ard, a stay-at-home mom from California, and her husband are millionaires primarily because they have $1 million equity in a $2 million home. However, after paying off the mortgage, Ard told Axios they don’t have much income left to spend (6).
"We don't take expensive vacations ever. I drive a 2016 Honda Odyssey with 175,000 miles on it," she said. "I know we're technically 'millionaires' with our home equity, but it isn't really helpful for monthly expenses."
Ard’s story highlights two key trends: the threshold for genuine wealth has moved higher in recent years, and to feel wealthy, you need to tackle lifestyle inflation.
The bottom line
Having a net worth of over $1 million is no longer a status symbol. These days, all it takes is owning a home in certain places and being on track with retirement savings to potentially enter the seven-figure club.
Many so-called millionaires barely have any money left at the end of each month after accounting for expenses. There’s a big difference between being a millionaire on paper and having a million dollars sitting in your bank account to spend as you wish.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
UBS (1); The Associated Press (2); Redfin (3); Bloomberg (4); Northwestern Mutual (5); Axios (6).
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
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