WSJ: The ranks of the ultrawealthy hit a high in 2025 as the AI trade lifted global markets, according to a new report by wealth-intelligence firm Altrata.

The number of ultrawealthy individuals—those Altrata defines as having a net worth of more than $30 million— jumped by 14.4% last year to 556,850 people worldwide by the end of 2025. That’s the fastest pace of growth since 2017.

One of the fastest-growing subgroups of the ultrawealthy in recent years has been centi-millionaires, or those worth more than $100 million, mainly from founding or investing in rapidly-growing technology companies, according to Altrata. That echoes findings from other research showing that the world is getting wealthier, but with riches disproportionately accruing to the wealthiest.

One such study, the World Inequality Report 2026, found that the wealth of the richest billionaires from 1995 to 2025 had grown at about 8.5% a year compared with about 3.4% a year for the bottom half of the global population.

The researchers said that by their count, around 60,000 people—the top 0.001% wealthiest in the world—are each worth at least $254 million.