South Koreans Are Getting Richer Faster Than Anyone Else: UBS

South Korea just took the top spot in the global wealth race. According to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026, South Korea’s real average wealth per capita has grown by more than 55% since 2020, the fastest rate in the world, outpacing every other market UBS tracks.

What the UBS report actually says

UBS ranked South Korea first among 56 countries surveyed for real average wealth growth in its 2026 Global Wealth Report, tracking inflation-adjusted changes in average per capita wealth from 2020 to 2025.

South Korea’s growth rate of more than 55% far outpaced second-place Russia at 37%, Croatia at 29% and Norway at 27%. On the other end, the Netherlands dropped 14.36% and the United Kingdom fell 23.2%.

The report put South Korea’s average wealth per capita at $311,260 as of end-2025, and median wealth at $101,739, placing the country 19th globally by average wealth and 18th by median wealth.

The global backdrop

Global personal wealth rose by 10.8% in USD terms in 2025, significantly outpacing growth seen in 2024 (4.6%) and 2023 (4.2%). Wealth growth was strongest in EMEA at 17.5%, followed by the Americas at 8.5%, while Asia-Pacific recorded growth of 5.9%.

The number of USD millionaires rose 1.5% in 2025, adding more than 2,600 per day globally, with the United States accounting for almost half of newly created millionaires, adding more than 440,000 individuals.

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The FX story behind the numbers

A big chunk of these gains is a currency effect. UBS chief economist Paul Donovan said exchange rate movements are “the biggest factor driving differences in wealth growth rates between countries.”

UBS noted that the weakness of the U.S. dollar against major currencies, including a nearly 9% rise in the euro, significantly inflated wealth figures measured in dollars for non-U.S. markets, though those gains did not reach most households.

Median wealth tells a different story

Headline wealth booms often mask what typical households actually see. Despite the headline growth, median wealth — a measure that better reflects typical households rather than the wealthiest — declined in most countries tracked by the bank.

South Korea also ranked near the top for median wealth growth, with median wealth rising more than 12% between 2020 and 2025. Japan led that category with growth exceeding 50%, followed by the United Arab Emirates at more than 40%.

Options market and stocks to watch

The Korean wealth story has read-throughs for names with heavy Korea exposure or consumer-facing brands riding the trend.

• EWY: the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is the cleanest single-ticker proxy for the theme. Watch flow into the ETF if the wealth narrative gets picked up more broadly.
• KB: KB Financial Group benefits directly from rising household assets, deposits, and wealth-management demand in Korea.
• SHG: Shinhan Financial is another Korean bank tied to domestic wealth accumulation and asset-management flows.
• CPNG: Coupang is the e-commerce leader in Korea and a direct play on Korean consumer spending power.
• UBS: the Swiss bank behind the report itself, with a global wealth-management franchise levered to exactly the trends it just documented.

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