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The roaring stock market and crypto gains created more than a million new millionaires in the US last year, according to a new report. |
The number of Americans with $1 million or more in investible assets surged to a record 14.6 million in 2021, up from 13.3 million in 2020, according to a report from wealth research firm the Spectrem Group. |
The growth rate of over 10% was the strongest in years, boosted by trillions of dollars in wealth created by the stock market, crypto and other assets. |
"It was the strongest year ever for millionaire creation in all segments,” said George Walper, president of Spectrem Group. |
The wealth surge was strongest at the top. The number of Americans worth $25 million or more surged by 18%. There are now a record 252,000 Americans worth $25 million or more, up from 214,000 in 2020. By contrast, the number of so-called “mass affluent” investors — or those with between $100,000 and $1 million — grew by about 2%. |
The stock market was by far the largest engine of wealth creation for millionaires and the wealthy in 2021. The S&P 500 gained 27% last year, while the Nasdaq was up 21%. The wealthiest 1% of Americans gained over $3 trillion in stock-market wealth in 2021, according to Federal Reserve data. |
Crypto and other assets — such as NFTs, collectibles and real estate — also gained in value, adding to the wealth of the wealthy. The total market cap of crypto assets, despite wild swings in prices, gained $1.5 trillion last year to over $2.3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. |
Values of private-equity and venture-capital investments also surged. Since the wealthy can afford to put more of their money in investments, especially those with the highest risks and rewards, ultra-millionaires benefitted more than the mass affluent in 2021. |
"The wealthy have the greatest exposure to the broadest investments,” Walper said. “It wasn’t just traditional liquid markets that did well last year. It was also alternative investments, real-estate investments and crypto.” |
The wealth gains at the top also widened the wealth gap in the US. The share of wealth held by the top 1% grew to a record 32% last year, according to the Fed. |
Wealth experts say it’s unlikely that last year’s gains will be sustained in 2022, given soaring inflation, rising interest rates and a potential economic slowdown. Stock market declines have already started trimming the paper fortunes of investors. The Nasdaq is down 14.5% for the year, while the S&P is down 8.4%. |
"Every day changes, so it’s hard to predict where the year will wind up,” Walper said. “But the first few months of 2022 have already painted a different picture than 2021.” |
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