Australians Reach Seven-Figure Net Worth Milestone, Driven by Property Boom

A rising number of everyday Australians have a seven-figure net worth, according to a global report from Swiss bank UBS.

The surge is largely driven by the nation's booming property market. Australian households collectively own $12.3 trillion in residential land and dwellings, a figure that exceeds the combined GDP of Japan, India and the UK.

The 2026 UBS Global Wealth Report shows the number of Australians with net assets worth more than $US1 million ($1.45 million) increased by roughly 25,000 last year, lifting the total to 1.6 million people.

Globally, total personal wealth climbed 10.8 per cent in 2025, up from 4.6 per cent in 2024.

UBS noted there were "more millionaires than ever, everywhere", with North America and Greater China together accounting for more than half (56 per cent) of the world's millionaires.

The US alone accounted for almost half of newly created millionaires in 2025, adding more than 440,000 individuals.

Mainland China, Japan, Germany, the UK and France each reported more than two million millionaires in total.

Despite the headline growth, median wealth — a measure that better reflects typical households rather than the wealthiest — declined in most countries included in the study.

Property remains Australia's wealth engine

Australia is third-highest in median wealth at $US210,783 ($306,074), behind Luxembourg and Belgium.

Australia ranks fifth based on its average wealth per adult at $US616,306 ($894,182).

But Australia's fresh crop of millionaires are not exactly living a life of jets and bubbles — the bulk of their wealth sits in non‑financial assets rather than readily spendable cash.

According to the ABS, household wealth grew 1.2 per cent to $19.2 trillion by the end of the March quarter. The increase in net worth was driven by growth in the value of land and dwellings.

The average house price in Australia was just over $1.1 million during the same period.

Australia's wealth distribution among world's most equal

UBS also found Australia's wealth inequality has narrowed.

The nation's Gini coefficient — a measure of how evenly wealth is shared — fell to 0.53, marking an improvement in this indicator of wealth distribution, and placing Australia among the most equal countries in UBS sample.

A score of one would mean the richest person has all the wealth, while a reading of zero would mean that wealth is completely evenly shared amongst all people.

The United Arab Emirates and Russia recorded the highest inequality at 0.82, followed by South Africa and Brazil at 0.81.

Slovakia ranked as most equal, with a very low coefficient of just 0.38, while Belgium and Qatar ranked as slightly more equal than Australia in wealth distribution.