Copyright businessday
The number of millionaires globally has exploded, multiplying fourfold since the early 2000s, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report. This wave of wealth is accelerating, with almost 684,000 people crossing the seven-figure mark in 2024 alone. While the United States remains the primary engine, creating over half of the new millionaires (379,000 in one year), emerging markets like India are surging forward, minting a new millionaire roughly every 15 minutes. However, this wealth expansion is not universal, with countries like the UK and Japan seeing their millionaire populations shrink. To understand where new fortunes are being built, one must look at the six specific industries that consistently do the heavy lifting. 1. Real estate and property services Real estate is categorized as one of the world’s most reliable millionaire factories and remains the largest single asset class for high-net-worth individuals, representing nearly 27% of their total wealth. Real estate’s strength lies in its mechanism for wealth creation: leverage. By using a down payment, an investor can control an asset far larger than their initial cash investment. As the property appreciates, the resulting equity snowballs quickly. Successful real estate agents and brokers regularly reach seven-figure status through commissions, while disciplined investors can cross the millionaire line in less than a decade simply through a rental portfolio or a few flipped homes. In India, Knight Frank reported that nearly one in five new millionaires cited real estate as their primary wealth source in the last five years. 2. Healthcare and medical services The healthcare sector has proven to be incredibly resilient, as demand for medicine, tests, and treatments doesn’t collapse with market cycles, making it less volatile than other industries. The medical ecosystem is a quiet millionaire machine. While Oxfam’s pandemic wealth report noted over 40 new healthcare billionaires were created during COVID, the true engine is the wave of millionaires generated through pharmaceuticals, clinics, and MedTech. For instance, the generics market in India is a massive machine, where midsize manufacturers and distributors built significant fortunes. In the US, private equity rolling up dental practices and outpatient clinics has turned ordinary doctors into seven-figure business owners. Furthermore, MedTech companies have minted waves of millionaire employees through stock options as share prices soared. 3. E-commerce, fashion, and retail The internet has leveled the playing field, making fashion and retail one of the most consistent sources of new millionaires in recent years due to endless consumer demand and low barriers to entry. This sector’s success is a function of volume and opportunity. Shopify’s 2024 impact report states over 5 million merchants run stores on its platform, with thousands crossing the seven-figure sales mark. Similarly, Marketplace Pulse estimates that over 60,000 Amazon sellers in the US alone generate over $1 million in annual revenue. While the majority of e-commerce, drop-shipping, and direct-to-consumer brands fail, the sheer number of attempts in a low-barrier-to-entry market ensures a constant stream of successful new millionaires. 4. Manufacturing and supply chain Over the last decade, the manufacturing sector quietly created more new billionaires than any other industry by owning a crucial piece of the production puzzle. This industry thrives on the “picks and shovels” analogy from the Gold Rush: the people who get rich are often the ones selling the essential tools to the prospectors. Manufacturing is the modern equivalent, supplying the components and goods for today’s booming sectors, such as packaging for Amazon sellers, furniture for IKEA, or textiles for Shein. Contract manufacturers and industrial middlemen get rich by staying invisible. Margins may not be glamorous, but profits snowball fast once a product is supplied at volume. This is evident in Germany, where the concept of the “Mittelstand” describes small-to-medium, family-owned companies that dominate niche, essential markets like precision screws or industrial pumps. 5. Finance and investments Finance remains the most reliable traditional industry for minting new seven-figure fortunes year after year, concentrated among an exclusive group of professionals. For those who gain entry, the odds of hitting millionaire status are higher than almost anywhere else. It is an industry where becoming a millionaire is expected after a decade or two at the top. This wealth is created through high annual pay, massive bonuses, carried interest, and equity stakes. Senior partners and mid-level executives at major firms like Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, or KKR routinely make millions in annual pay and profit sharing. However, unlike other sectors, finance is not accessible to everyone, maintaining a significant barrier to entry compared to the entrepreneurial paths of tech or e-commerce. 6. Technology and startups Technology completely dominates the creation of new millionaires, being the biggest engine for first-generation millionaires—ordinary people crossing seven figures for the first time. Tech is a millionaire machine because of its speed and scalability. While a direct-to-consumer brand might take a decade to reach $100 million in revenue, a successful app can achieve it in two years, compressing the millionaire timeline. The creation of wealth is often tied to company milestones: IPOs, acquisitions, and the distribution of stock options. The IPO of Airbnb in 2020 instantly turned hundreds of employees into millionaires. More recently, the AI boom, exemplified by Nvidia’s rise, has similarly enriched thousands of engineers, managers, and early shareholders. In tech, it is not unusual for someone in their early 30s to become a millionaire. The three unwavering pillars of millionaire creation When the six industries above are analyzed, a clear pattern emerges: millionaires don’t pop up randomly, but cluster where three distinct forces intersect. 1. Scale: The ability to reach millions of people, whether through a global tech platform, an Amazon ecosystem store, or a factory supplying parts worldwide. 2. Leverage: The use of systems, not just personal labor. This could be mortgages in real estate, other people’s money in finance, code in technology, or machines in manufacturing. Leverage multiplies output without multiplying effort. 3. Growth: Riding a wave that is bigger than oneself. Industries benefiting from secular trends like EV adoption, AI development, or luxury spending in emerging markets lift participants along with the surging demand. The ultimate takeaway is not to chase a specific product, but to strategically position yourself inside a system that possesses scale, leverage, and growth.
