By Abby Schultz

With the S&P 500 up 23% in 2024, getting richer was easier than usual. The number of North Americans with at least $1 million in investible assets grew by 7.3%, to 8.4 million, and their wealth surged 8.9%, to nearly $30 trillion, according to Capgemini Research Institute's annual World Wealth Report. Wealth abroad grew more slowly, with the number of wealthy individuals globally rising by 2.6%, to 23.4 million, and assets up 4.2%, to $90.5 trillion.

Most of the gains came to the ultrarich, those with at least $30 million in assets. This group represents only 1% of "wealthy" individuals, but 34% of all wealth, Capgemini says. One reason: The ultrarich tend to invest globally, not just locally, says Kartik Ramakrishnan, CEO of Capgemini's financial services strategic business unit: "They can go where they see opportunities for profit."

Those with $1 million to $5 million stay closer to home, he adds. Last year, they piled into lower-yielding investments, such as fixed income and real estate, and their ranks grew by only 2.4%; in 2023, they were the fastest-growing segment, up 5.2%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose only 5.9% in 2024, its wealth increased by just 0.7%, and its numbers shrank by 2.1%. Globally, the wealthy allocated on average 22% to stocks, 19% to real estate, 18% to fixed income, and 15% to alternative investments like private equity and private credit, plus some crypto.

This year, with trade wars and the S&P 500 up only 1.5%, looks a lot tougher.

Write to Abby Schultz abby.schultz@barrons.com

Last Week

Markets

In a busy week, China and the U.S. sniped at each other over trade and rare-earth minerals, President Donald Trump doubled aluminum and steel tariffs to 50%, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would "never default on its debt." Stocks opened down as Treasuries climbed and May manufacturing contracted, then rose as tech rallied. The Congressional Budget Office warned the GOP tax bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit, and Trump finally talked to China's Xi Jinping. Stocks then plunged as Trump and Elon Musk engaged in a brutal public tweet war; Tesla fell 15%. The U.S. added 139,000 jobs in May. On the week, the Dow industrials rose 1.2%; the S&P 500, 1.5%; and the Nasdaq Composite, 2.2%.

Companies

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new Moderna Covid vaccine for those over 65. Musk is selling $5 billion in debt and $300 million in shares for his artificial-intelligence start-up xAI, valuing it at $113 billion. Meta Platforms signed a 20-year deal to buy electricity from a Constellation Energy nuclear plant. Regulators lifted Wells Fargo's asset cap after seven years. Procter & Gamble will cut 7,000 jobs.

Deals

Sanofi agreed to buy U.S.-based biotech Blueprint Medicines for up to $9.5 billion... Bristol Myers Squibb will pay BioNTech up to $11 billion to partner on a cancer drug to compete with Merck's blockbuster Keytruda...Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet went public, rising 170% in its debut to a $20 billion market cap.

Next Week

Monday 6/9

Apple 's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off in Cupertino, Calif. The company is expected to introduce new iterations of operating systems for its various hardware platforms.

The conference runs through Friday.

Wednesday 6/11

Oracle reports quarterly results on Wednesday, while Adobe releases earnings on Thursday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for May. Economists forecast a 2.5% year-over-year increase, two-tenths of a percentage point more than in April. The core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.9%, compared with 2.8% previously. With the core CPI stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target and the labor market still solid, the FOMC is likely to keep interest rates unchanged through the summer.

Friday 6/13

The University of Michigan releases the Consumer Sentiment index for June. Consensus estimate is for a 52.4 reading, roughly even with the May figure, which was the lowest since the summer of 2022. With equities rebounding sharply in May, consumer sentiment might see a commensurate bump, as seen in the Conference Board's survey released late last month.

The Numbers

50%

The rate of growth of Wegovy weight-loss prescriptions in 2024 for teenagers, to some 14.8 per 100,000.

1 M

Projected Russian casualties in the Ukraine war by the end of June, based on losses of 1,000 a day since 2022.

7.1%

Decline in sales for China's top 100 property developers from January to May year over year.

$8.5 B

Value of monthly central-bank gold buys in 2024, the third straight year of over 1,000 tons of bullion.

Write to Robert Teitelman at bob.teitelman@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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June 06, 2025 19:45 ET (23:45 GMT)

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