The U.S. minted 736,000 new millionaires last year, bringing the total number of Americans with such wealth to a record 8.7 million, according to a new report.

Millionaire wealth is measured by investable assets, excluding individuals' primary residences, collectibles, consumables and consumer durable goods, consulting firm Capgemini said in its World Wealth Report 2026, released Thursday. The number of U.S. millionaires is the highest since Capgemini started tracking wealth trends three decades ago, the company told CBS News.

The stock market was a primary driver of the surge in new millionaires, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising about 18% and 21% last year, respectively. Wealthy Americans also increased their equity allocations last year by about 5 percentage points, from 22% to 27% of their portfolios, boosting their wealth, Capgemini said.

The jump in the number of millionaires also underscores a widening divide in the U.S. between low- and high-income households as many Americans struggle to afford the cost of living. Households earning below $50,000 a year are increasingly gloomy, while those with incomes above $100,000 are showing greater confidence, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok.

"This divergence is likely driven by lower-income households worrying about rising gas prices, while higher-income households are focusing on rising stock prices," Slok wrote in a May 6 blog post.

When your stock portfolio and 401(k) are surging — with the S&P 500 index up 10.6% so far in 2026 — it's easier to feel good about your finances. Yet roughly half of Americans lack access to a retirement plan, leaving them to grapple with high gas prices and elevated inflation without the buffer of rising investment wealth.

Who is the typical U.S. millionaire?
While Capgemini didn't collect demographic data on U.S. millionaires, other research offers insight into wealthy Americans.

The typical newly minted millionaire is a Gen Xer or baby boomer with much of their wealth tied up in retirement investments, according to financial services group Empower. Americans typically cross the millionaire threshold in their 50s or 60s, with 60-somethings holding average retirement assets of $1.2 million, the group said in a report.

Millionaires also share a few behavioral traits, Empower found. For one, 95% own their own home, compared with about 66% of the overall U.S. population.

Although Capgemini excluded primary residences from their analysis, previous research shows a strong link between homeownership and wealth. Homeowners had an average net worth of $1.5 million in 2022, compared with $154,000 for renters, according to the most recent Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances.

Still, becoming a millionaire may not carry the same cachet as it did a decade or two ago, when it was considered the mark of wealth. Today, Americans believe they need to have an average of $5.3 million in wealth to be considered "financially successful," Empower found.

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