Aussies Are Officially The World’s Second Wealthiest People

• UBS has crowned Australia the second-richest country in its 16th annual Global Wealth Report.
• The ranking is, in large part, thanks to real estate ownership (which is quickly becoming a measure for wealth disparity).
• Australia also now boasts approximately 1.9 million millionaires within its population by USD (the eighth most in the world) or roughly one in 10.

As surprising as it may be to anyone required to make rent in Sydney or forced to reckon with their weekly Woollies receipt, the 16th annual UBS Global Wealth Report has recently determined that Australia is the world’s second-richest country in terms of median wealth.

Bested solely by Luxembourg at just under US$400,000, across 2024, Australia’s median wealth increased by 11% to US$268,424. Our average wealth, on the other hand, only climbed 4% to US$516,640 – ranking fifth by that metric.

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“The top 25 ranking by average and median wealth does not materially differ from last year. Yet, it allows for some interesting conclusions. First of all, average wealth per adult consistently outstrips median wealth per adult, across our entire sample, and significantly so, often even by a factor of two,” explains the Swiss bank via its annual report.

“Secondly, the ranking of median wealth tends to be the one that causes more surprise. Indeed, there are a few quietly well-off places in the Top 10 that fly below the radar of public attention, but that rank highly in terms of median wealth per adult in spite of less than spectacular average wealth.”

How has Australia managed to pull this one off? For the most part: our perennially-discussed property market.

The majority of our nation’s personal wealth is tied up in non-financial assets, with real estate accounting for almost 55%. In stark contrast, securities and financial instruments account for less than 10%. According to the UBS breakdown, we rank the lowest for being cash-rich within the report’s wealthy cohort.

“The proportion of wealth held in cash and deposits is only half as much as in Switzerland, Singapore, and the UK.”

What’s even more astounding, however, is that currently, one in 10 Australians is a millionaire in USD terms, alongside the monied likes of Hong Kong, the Netherlands, as well as the US. That’s approximately 1.9 million roaming among us, which places us eighth for the UBS millionaire index rankings.

Andrew McAuley, Chief of Investments at UBS Global Wealth Management Australia, said: “Like many developed nations, Australia’s demographics are changing, and as the population ages, we are likely to see a significant wealth transfer over the next 20 to 25 years of around US$170 billion.”

“This transition will likely prompt investors to think about legacy, guiding them to an endowment-style asset allocation with long-term resilience.”

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Check out the world’s richest countries by median wealth below.

1. Luxembourg (US$395,340)
2. Australia (US$268,424)
3. Belgium (US$153,539)
4. Hong Kong SAR (US$222,015)
5. Denmark (US$216,098)
6. New Zealand (US$207,707)
7. Switzerland (US$182,248)
8. United Kingdom (US$176,370)
9. Canada (US$151,910)
10. France (US$146,017)
11. Norway (US$142,501)
12. Netherlands (US$131,896)
13. Spain (US$126,290)
14. Italy (US$124,473)
15. United States (US$124,041)
16. Malta (US$120,875)
17. Taiwan (US$114,871)
18. Singapore (US$113,976)
19. Ireland (US$105,626)
20. South Korea (US$104,067)
21. Japan (US$102,198)
22. Qatar (US$102,178)
23. Finland (US$94,794)
24. Sweden (US$89,430)
25. Israel (US$88,866)

You can check out the full UBS Global Wealth Report (2025) via the link below.