The proportion of millionaires to the Australian adult population is 10 per cent, which is set to grow by over 20 per cent by 2028.
According to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024, one in 10 Australians are considered to be millionaires in US dollar terms (A$1.48 million). This proportion is equal to Hong Kong, and only exceeded by Luxembourg and Switzerland.
With 1.9 million people out of Australia’s 25.8 million population ranking as USD millionaires, UBS expects this figure to grow by more than 20 per cent by 2028 – equivalent to an increase of roughly 400,000 people.
This is positive news after last year’s report found Australia saw the number of millionaires fall by 363,000 to stand at around 1.8 million. Much of last year’s decline came from the appreciation of the US dollar against many other currencies, along with interest rate hikes and inflationary pressure, the report found.
UBS defines “wealth” as the value of financial assets plus real assets (principally housing) owned by households, minus their debts. This also includes superannuation and private pension funds.
Australia’s average wealth per adult increased by nearly 10 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year in USD terms, more than twice the growth rate of UBS’ sample of 56 countries.
As wealth climbs higher in the country, Andrew McAuley, managing director at UBS Wealth Management Australia, underscored the importance of seeking financial advice.
“With strong superannuation growth and property strength, Australia now has almost 2 million USD millionaires, and we expect growth of 21 per cent in that number over the next five years,” he said.
“This growing wealth, and the wealth transfers now occurring as the Baby Boomer generation ages, reinforces the need for investors to build a long-term wealth plan and to get the correct advice.”
Australia ranked second in the top 25 countries for median wealth at US$261,805 ($387,765), with Luxembourg sitting in first place at US$372,258 ($551,360). Belgium took the third position, followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand, Denmark, Switzerland, UK, Norway and Canada.
McAuley continued: “In the period 2008 to 2023, average wealth per adult in Australia has grown by 150 per cent, which is around the middle of the pack for the 56 countries examined in the report. Based on median wealth per adult, Australia ranks second to Luxembourg. Australia also ranks highly for distribution of wealth, with a Gini Index of 54 seeing it ranked third in terms of wealth equality.”
