The boost of artificial intelligence in financial markets helped the US beat the world in millionaire growth last year, when its ranks swelled by 600,000.
That’s more than the population of Baltimore, bringing the total number of Americans with at least $1 million in investable assets, not including their primary residence, to 7.5 million, CNBC reported, citing data from Paris-based consulting firm Capgemini.
The 7.3% increase in the number of US millionaires last year helped North America regain the world’s highest millionaire growth rate from the Asia-Pacific region.
Asia saw a millionaire growth of 4.8%, while the number of millionaires in Europe rose by 4%. The number of millionaires in Latin America rose by 2.7% last year and in the Middle East by 2.1%. Africa saw a decline of 0.1%, according to Capgemini.
The wealth of all US millionaires combined was approximately $26 trillion. The number of people with a net worth of $30 million or more also reached about 100,000, and they have a cumulative net worth of about $7.4 trillion.
AI and technology stocks are driving the rise of millionaires
The growth rate of U.S. millionaires has been fueled in part by a stock market bounce led by AI and technology companies. The S&P 500 index shot up 24% last year, thanks in part to investor optimism about the future of AI.
AI chip supplier Nvidia topped the index with a 239% gain in 2023. Meta and Tesla, two other tech giants involved in AI, rose 194% and 102% respectively last year. Goldman Sachs estimates that global investment in AI could reach $200 billion by 2025.
The stock market gains that helped add so many millionaires in 2023 have continued so far this year, as the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index hit record highs this week. The S&P 500 is up about 12% this year, and some of the biggest players in the AI ​​market, like Nvidia and Microsoft, have seen their shares continue to rise into 2024.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
