High-net-worth individual

In the financial services industry, a high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a person who has a lot of money and assets. Usually, this means they have more than US$1 million in assets, not counting the value of their home. These people are important because they have a lot of money to invest and spend.

There are also very-high-net-worth individuals (VHNWI), who have at least US$5 million, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI), who have US$30 million or more. People with over US$1 billion are in an even more special group.

Even though UHNWIs make up only a tiny part of the world’s population, they own a big share of all the world’s wealth. In 2017, there were about 226,450 UHNWIs, and together they had $27 trillion.

United States: SEC regulations

See also: Accredited investor

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asks investment experts to share reports called Form ADV. These reports show how many customers are very wealthy, meaning they have lots of money saved up. The rules say a very wealthy person might have over $1,100,000 that an expert is helping them manage, or they might have more than $2,200,000 in total wealth, not counting their main home. These rules are checked and updated every five years to match changes in prices. For these rules, a person’s wealth can include things like their home or art they own.

This is different from other ways people talk about wealth, because it can include things that are not just money, like valuable items at home.

Annual World Wealth Report

The World Wealth Report was made by teams from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini starting in 1993. They made their first report in 1996 to learn about people with a lot of money. These people are called high-net-worth individuals, or HNWIs, and they have at least $1 million in things they own, not counting their home. There is also a group called ultra high-net-worth individuals, or UHNWIs, who have at least $30 million.

In 2008, there were about 8.6 million HNWIs around the world. This was smaller than the year before. The money they all had together was about $32.8 trillion, which was also less than before. The UHNWIs lost even more during this time. Later reports showed slow growth, with UHNWIs reaching about 226,450 people by 2017, and their total wealth growing to $27 trillion.

The 2018 report was made by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management. It included a big survey of people with a lot of money from many parts of the world.

The report has estimated the number of HNWIs and how much money they have together.

Markets

Certain products and services are made just for people who have a lot of money. These include big houses called mansions, large boats called yachts, and special airline tickets. Some wealthy people also buy special insurance called umbrella insurance. As more people have money, expensive things like these are becoming available to more people. Education is also a big focus for many wealthy families. In the United States, a new idea called concierge medicine started around 2017.

Banking and finance

Main articles: Private banking and Wealth management

Big banks around the world, like Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS, have special teams to help people with a lot of money manage their money. These teams include advisors and experts who help these clients. By 2006, these banks helped manage over £300 billion for their wealthy clients. These bankers often earned very high salaries and even owned their own companies.

Other

See also: Offshore bank

Some magazines, like Monocle, Robb Report, and Worth, are made just for people who have a lot of money. Some car brands, like Bentley, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce, focus on selling their products to these wealthy individuals. In 2006, it was estimated that there were about 80,000 people around the world who had extremely large amounts of money. These individuals often own many cars, several homes, and usually have airplanes and boats.

Number of UHNWIs by city

Three sources collect information about cities with the most very wealthy people. The newest data from Altrata in 2023 shows that New York City had 16,630 very wealthy people, Hong Kong had 12,546, Los Angeles had 8,955, and Tokyo had 6,445.

Earlier lists came from Wealth-X and the Knight Frank Wealth Report.

The World Ultra Wealth Report from 2013 was made together by Wealth-X and UBS. The fifth version of this report came out on June 27, 2017. Before that, Wealth-X made these reports on its own in 2011 and 2012.

UHNW characteristics

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reported in 2014 that very wealthy people, called Ultra-High-Net-Worth households, had seen their money grow by 20% in 2013. BCG says these people have more than $100 million in easy-to-use money, which is more than the usual $30 million used since 2007. These very wealthy people control 5.5% of all the money in the world. Most of them live in the US, followed by China, Britain, and Germany. BCG thinks this trend of wealth becoming more concentrated will keep happening.

In 2018, it was found that most of these very wealthy people made their own money, with a smaller number inheriting it or a mix of both. Many made their money in finance, banking, and investments.

Number of UHNWIs by country

This section lists the countries with the most people who have a lot of money — specifically, $30 million or more. The data comes from the 2024 Knight Frank's Wealth Report.

UHNWI role in economies

See also: High-net-worth individual § Markets

Very-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) play an important role in helping communities through charitable giving. Many have their own private groups to support different causes, such as education and helping people in need. Banks also pay special attention to UHNWIs, with specific services to help manage their money.

Research about UHNWIs is very important because of upcoming transfers of wealth from older to younger generations. Luxury companies often focus on UHNWIs as important customers. In 2014, experts believed that the growth of UHNWIs in Asia could help the luxury industry grow.

In 2014, UHNWIs owned a large amount of real estate — over US$5 trillion worth, which was 3% of all real estate in the world. This is especially notable because UHNWIs make up only a very small part (0.003%) of the world's population.