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This is a reissue of the release originally distributed on 19-Oct-2026. It consists of an updated headline.
Driven by the Stock Market, U.S. Minting Millionaires at Record Pace
Market Updates News Commentary - The United States added more than 440,000 millionaires in 2025, an average of more than 1,200 a day, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026. That brings the country to more than 23.6 million people with a net worth of at least $1 million, and the U.S. accounted for almost half of all the new millionaires created worldwide last year. The headline number is real. What it means for an ordinary household, and for the companies that hold, invest and advise on all that money, is a more complicated story. Companies mentioned in this article include: The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA).
A Million Is Not What It Used to Be
Start with the averages. UBS put average wealth per U.S. adult at $696,277, up nearly 10% since 2020. Median wealth per adult, the person in the middle of the ladder, sits just under $69,000 and has fallen almost 20% over the same stretch after inflation. The distance between those two numbers shows how unevenly the gains have been shared.
Inflation has moved the goalposts as well. A million dollars in 1996 carries roughly the purchasing power of $2.1 million today, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, The Independent reported in April. The same report cited Northwestern Mutual's 2025 Planning & Progress Study, which found that about 64% of Americans with at least $1 million in investable assets do not consider themselves wealthy.
Americans' own definition of rich has drifted higher, too. In Schwab's 2025 Modern Wealth Survey, respondents said it takes an average net worth of $2.3 million to be considered wealthy and $839,000 to be financially comfortable, up from $778,000 a year earlier. The 2026 edition, released Oct. 7, looked at a newer piece of the puzzle: 52% of Americans familiar with cryptocurrency now call it important or essential to building wealth.
Built on the Stock Market
Most American wealth is now held in financial assets rather than real estate and other property. UBS found that financial assets make up nearly 79% of gross wealth in the U.S., among the highest shares it measured. The Federal Reserve's latest Financial Accounts, released Sept. 11, showed household and nonprofit net worth rose $12.8 trillion in the second quarter to $195.9 trillion, as the value of directly and indirectly held equities climbed $10.7 trillion.
A large share of that money flows through index funds and ETFs. BlackRock, the manager behind the iShares ETF lineup, reported $15.5 trillion in assets under management at Sept. 30 and $205 billion of total net inflows in the third quarter. "iShares generated $135 billion of net inflows, diversified across categories and global product lines," Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said in the company's Oct. 14 release, adding that BlackRock is entering its "seasonally strongest fourth quarter" with a pipeline that includes private markets and retirement.
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The Slow Road Still Works
For many households, the path to seven figures runs through a retirement account. Fidelity Investments counted a record 769,000 401(k) millionaires in the second quarter of 2026, up from 595,000 a year earlier. The average 401(k) balance reached $155,800, up 10% from the first quarter, and the average 401(k) savings rate was 14.4%. "The combination of record account balances, strong savings behaviors and effective plan design tell an encouraging story about how Americans are approaching retirement," said Sharon Brovelli, President of Workplace Investing at Fidelity.
Newer platforms are drawing that money as well. Robinhood reported record Retirement assets under custody of $34.5 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 82% from a year earlier, along with 4.8 million Robinhood Gold subscribers. By August, the company counted 28.6 million funded customers and $384 billion in total platform assets, with $4.0 billion of net deposits in the month, a 14% annualized growth rate.
Where the New Money Goes for Advice
As balances grow, so does the business of managing them, and third-quarter results showed the money is still arriving. Morgan Stanley reported record Wealth Management net revenues of $9.1 billion for the quarter, with net new assets of $232.4 billion and fee-based flows of $80.5 billion. Client assets across its wealth and investment management businesses reached $10.5 trillion, and the wealth unit posted a 30.4% pre-tax margin.
Schwab posted record quarterly core net new assets of $190.4 billion, up 38% from a year earlier, lifting total client assets to $13.33 trillion at Sept. 30. Clients opened about 1.2 million new brokerage accounts in the quarter.
Independent advisors are seeing the same pull. LPL Financial, which supports independent financial advisors, reported total client assets of $2.60 trillion at the end of August, with $13.5 billion of organic net new assets in the month, a 6.4% annualized growth rate.
Put together, the picture is two-sided. The U.S. is minting millionaires faster than any other country by headcount, even as a seven-figure net worth buys less than it once did and median wealth per adult has slipped. For the firms that hold, invest and advise on that wealth, the latest numbers show the inflows have not slowed.
Financial assets make up nearly 79% of American wealth, according to UBS, so knowing how to read the market matters. Get the free Stock Preachers chart-reading guide, plus The Roadmap market reports, at stockpreachers.com.
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