What Counts as a High-Net-Worth Individual?
A high-net-worth individual is someone who has at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding their primary home, collectibles, and everyday personal property. One thing we see readers mix up most often is this threshold and the criteria for being an "accredited investor," which is a separate legal status with its own dollar test.
Plenty of people fall into both categories, but they measure different things for different purposes. Knowing which one applies to you determines what doors open.
The Dollar Threshold, Exactly
A high-net-worth individual (HNWI) holds at least $1 million in investable assets, a definition Capgemini's Research Institute uses in its annual World Wealth Report, the wealth-management industry's most-cited benchmark. Investable assets exclude your primary residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables like cars and furniture, so the number is narrower than your total net worth.
That exclusion matters more than it sounds. A homeowner with a $1.2 million house and $300,000 in a 401(k) and brokerage account has a net worth over $1 million but only $300,000 in investable assets, which puts them well below the HNWI line. The $1 million threshold isn't a law or a regulation. It's an industry convention that wealth managers, private banks, and research firms all use to segment clients, so different firms can and do set their own minimums around it.
The Three Wealth Tiers Above $1 Million
Capgemini splits high-net-worth wealth into three bands: entry-level HNWI runs from $1 million to $5 million, mid-tier HNWI runs from $5 million to $30 million, and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) covers everyone above $30 million. Each tier tends to change the level of service you get, on top of a bigger account statement.
An entry-level HNWI usually works with a standard wealth-management team and a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and funds. A mid-tier HNWI more often gets a dedicated relationship manager and access to alternative investments like private equity or hedge funds that firms reserve for larger accounts. A UHNW client frequently moves into a family office, either a dedicated team the family employs directly or a shared arrangement, built around tax strategy, estate planning, and multi-generational wealth transfer alongside the investment portfolio itself.
High-Net-Worth vs. Accredited Investor: Different Tests
An accredited investor is a legal status the Securities and Exchange Commission defines, and it exists to decide who can legally invest in unregistered securities like a private equity fund or a startup's seed round, not to describe general wealth. You qualify as an accredited investor with a net worth over $1 million excluding your primary residence, the same exclusion HNWI uses, or with income over $200,000 individually (or $300,000 with a spouse) in each of the last two years, with a reasonable expectation of the same this year.
Many high-net-worth individuals also qualify as accredited investors, since both tests exclude the primary home and land near the same $1 million mark. But the two labels serve different purposes. Being high-net-worth is a wealth-management industry convention that shapes which advisory services a firm offers you. Being an accredited investor is a legal gate that decides whether a specific private investment can legally be sold to you at all, regardless of which wealth manager you use. Private placement life insurance sits behind that gate, sold under a private placement exemption rather than on the retail market.
How Many People Actually Clear the Threshold
The global HNWI population reached 25.3 million people in 2025, up almost 2 million from the year before, according to Capgemini's World Wealth Report 2026. Combined HNWI wealth worldwide hit $98.3 trillion, an 8.7% jump and the largest single-year increase since 2018, driven mainly by strong stock market returns and easing inflation.
That growth is not evenly spread. A market rally that lifts stock portfolios pushes people who are already close to the $1 million investable-asset line over it fastest, since a diversified portfolio moves with the market in a way a paid-off house or a car does not. A downturn works the same way in reverse, which is one reason the HNWI population count moves up and down more than most people expect year to year.
What Changes Once You Cross $1 Million
Crossing $1 million in investable assets is usually the point where a standard financial advisor's services start to feel undersized for what you actually need. Wealth-management minimums commonly start between $500,000 and $2 million depending on the firm, and our financial advisor vs. wealth manager comparison breaks down exactly what that added service tier includes.
Tax and estate planning also get more complicated at this level, since a $1 million-plus portfolio generates enough dividends, capital gains, and potential estate-tax exposure that a coordinated plan across investments, taxes, and an estate attorney starts paying for itself. Below that threshold, a single generalist advisor can usually still handle everything. Above it, most households benefit from a team instead of one person wearing every hat.
How High-Net-Worth Portfolios Are Actually Allocated
HNWI portfolios held roughly 25% in equities as of January 2026, per Capgemini's research, alongside 20% in fixed income, up two percentage points as bond markets posted their strongest returns since 2020. Alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds fell to about 12% of the average HNWI portfolio, reflecting how much public stocks outperformed them over the same stretch.
That mix runs more conservative than a common assumption that high-net-worth money sits mostly in exotic, illiquid investments. In practice, roughly two-thirds of the average HNWI portfolio sits in ordinary stocks and bonds, the same building blocks available to any investor through a standard brokerage account, just allocated with more access to the smaller alternative-investment slice most retail investors can't reach at all.
Who This Threshold Doesn't Apply To
This $1 million threshold doesn't apply to someone whose net worth clears $1 million mostly through home equity or retirement accounts they can't touch without a penalty, since wealth managers count investable assets, not total net worth, when they decide who qualifies as high-net-worth. A homeowner with $900,000 in home equity and $150,000 in a taxable brokerage account has a net worth over $1 million but doesn't clear the HNWI line by the industry's own measure.
That changes the moment those assets become liquid and investable, for example after selling the home and reinvesting the proceeds, or after retiring and rolling a large 401(k) into an IRA a wealth manager can actually manage. At that point the same dollars that didn't count before now do, and the wealth-management conversation changes with them.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth?
High-net-worth (HNWI) starts at $1 million in investable assets and runs up to $30 million once you include the mid-tier band from $5 million to $30 million. Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) covers everyone above $30 million, a tier that typically comes with family-office-level services instead of standard wealth management.
Does my house count toward being high-net-worth?
No. The standard HNWI definition excludes your primary residence, along with collectibles and everyday personal property like cars and furniture. Only investable assets, cash, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts, count toward the $1 million threshold, so a paid-off house does not push you over the line by itself.
Is a high-net-worth individual the same as an accredited investor?
Not exactly, though the two overlap for many people. High-net-worth is a wealth-management industry convention based on $1 million in investable assets. Accredited investor is a legal status the SEC defines, using a net worth test that excludes your primary residence or an income test of $200,000 individually ($300,000 with a spouse) for two straight years, and it decides whether you can legally buy certain private investments.
How many high-net-worth individuals are there worldwide?
About 25.3 million people qualified as high-net-worth individuals globally in 2025, up nearly 2 million from the prior year, according to Capgemini's World Wealth Report 2026. Their combined wealth reached $98.3 trillion, the largest single-year increase since 2018.
What changes once I become high-net-worth?
Wealth-management minimums, commonly $500,000 to $2 million depending on the firm, come within reach, along with access to a dedicated relationship manager and alternative investments many retail accounts can't offer. Tax and estate planning also tend to get more complex at this level, since larger portfolios generate more dividends, capital gains, and potential estate-tax exposure worth coordinating across a team instead of one advisor alone.
What's the difference between ultra-high-net-worth and a family office?
Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) describes a wealth level, above $30 million in investable assets. A family office is a service model some UHNW households use to manage that wealth, either a dedicated team the family employs directly or a shared arrangement serving several families at once, built around investments, tax strategy, and multi-generational estate planning in one coordinated place.
Sources
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