According to the "World Inequalities 2026" report, three-quarters of the world's wealth belongs to just 10% of the population. Experts say the gap between the rich and the poor has deepened even further this year: a mere 60,000 people — 0.001% of the world's population — own three times more wealth than the poorest half of the population.
The report noted that the wealthiest 1% hold a significantly larger financial advantage compared to the remaining 90%. Researchers warn that such disparity threatens economic stability and propose strengthening education, healthcare, effective tax systems, and redistribution programs.
Among the countries with the highest concentration of wealthy residents, Switzerland ranks first in terms of the share of millionaires — 16.45% of its adult population owns assets worth at least $1 million. Luxembourg and Hong Kong were also highlighted as regions with high wealth accumulation.
In terms of the number of millionaires, the US leads with over 22 million. China has 6.3 million, while France, Japan, and Germany each have between 2.7 and 2.9 million millionaires. However, the share of millionaires is much higher in wealthy countries with smaller populations.
In contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Central America have an almost negligible share of millionaires. In Central Asia, only Kazakhstan made the list.
According to Forbes' updated list, a shift has been observed in the world's top three richest people: Google co-founders Larry Page ($275 billion) and Sergey Brin ($258 billion) have risen to second and third place respectively, behind Elon Musk ($442 billion). Their sharp increase in wealth is attributed to Google's successes in artificial intelligence and the Nano Banana neural network.
