The Number of UHNW Households Climb on Stock Market Rally

The number of Ultra High Net Worth households - those with a net worth of $5 million or more including primary residence - was 1.14 million at the end of 2012, up from 1.078 million in 2011 and close to the record high of 1.16 million in 2007, according to the Affluent Market Insights 2013 report released today by Spectrem Group.

The number of Millionaire households - those with a net worth of $1 million or more - rose from 8.6 million in 2011 to 8.99 million at the end of last year, slightly below the high of 9.2 million reached in 2007. 

The increase in wealthy U.S. households is attributed primarily to a large exposure to equities and, to a lesser extent, improvements in the real estate market. The number of non-Millionaire households did not rise as robustly. Households with a net worth of $500,000 or more NIPR numbered 14.3 million at the end of 2012, well below the 2007 peak of 15.7 million. Less affluent households appear to be maintaining large cash reserves and have stayed on the sidelines for much of the prolonged market rally.

Households with a net worth of $25 million or more NIPR numbered 117,000 at year end, up from 107,000 last year, but below the 2007 high of 125,000. The total number of  households with a net worth of $100,000 or more NIPR rose from 36.7 million in 2011 to 37.4 million in 2012. See our related story on Millionaire Corner.