A new report by Swiss bank UBS reveals that while the number of dollar millionaires in Turkey surged by more than 8 percent in 2024, overall real wealth in the country fell sharply, underscoring a deepening gap between the rich and the rest.
While real wealth in Turkey declined by 21 percent in 2024, the number of dollar millionaires in the country increased by 8.4 percent, the highest rate among the 56 countries analyzed in the Global Wealth Report 2025 released by UBS on June 18. This contrasting trend points to the growing divide in wealth distribution amid persistent inflation and currency depreciation.
According to the UBS methodology, which employs Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data supplemented by International Monetary Fund, United Nations and World Bank sources across markets representing over 92 percent of global wealth, this paradox is rooted in how high inflation and currency fluctuations distort the perception of wealth. For instance, while average wealth per adult in Turkey rose by more than 35 percent in local currency terms, this nominal growth became a 14.6 percent contraction in real terms after adjusting for inflation.
The impact was even more severe for median real wealth, which represents the person in the middle of the economic ladder, shrinking by nearly 21 percent. The report stresses that such increases in lira-denominated assets offer little real benefit in the current economic climate.
Despite this overall decline in real wealth, Turkey added 7,000 new dollar millionaires in 2024. This growth rate outpaced all other countries in the comprehensive analysis. The United Arab Emirates followed with an increase of 5.8 percent, and Russia also reported a notable rise. By comparison, the United States recorded the largest absolute increase in millionaires, with 379,000 individuals, but its growth rate remained limited to 1.5 percent.
Turkey’s rapid expansion in high-net-worth individuals runs counter to the global average, where millionaire growth was 1.2 percent.
Wealth inequality in Turkey is among the most pronounced globally. The Gini coefficient, which measures inequality on a scale where 1 indicates maximum disparity, stood at 0.73. This places Turkey among the 10 most unequal countries, positioned between India and the United States in the global inequality rankings.
Between 2020 and 2024, median wealth in Turkey grew by less than a quarter of the global average, indicating that the majority of wealth gains were concentrated among the top earners. This uneven accumulation reflects deepening structural inequality across the economic spectrum.
UBS data also show that household wealth in Turkey is largely tied to non-financial assets, particularly real estate, while personal debt levels remain extremely low compared to other countries. This composition leaves households more exposed to economic fluctuations since they hold relatively illiquid assets that cannot easily be converted to cash during economic downturns.
Looking ahead, the report estimates that Turkey will experience a substantial transfer of wealth between generations over the next two to three decades. By 2050, approximately $103 billion are expected to be passed down through inheritance. This projected volume exceeds South Korea’s estimate of $69 billion but falls short of Spain’s $117 billion. Turkey ranks among the top 20 countries globally in terms of anticipated wealth transfer.