How a 33% jump in billionaires and fast‑growing UHNWIS is reshaping Canada’s wealth map
Canada is on track to create billionaires far faster than many peers.
According to a recent Knight Frank LLP report cited by the Financial Post, Canada’s billionaire population is projected to grow 33 percent by 2031, with 16 more people joining the ranks for a total of 65.
Knight Frank said Canada’s billionaire count already rose to 49 in 2026 from 47 last year and that it bases its figures on where billionaires are nominally resident rather than on citizenship or birthplace.
On the global table, the Financial Post reported that Knight Frank ranked Canada 13th by billionaire numbers, while the United States topped the list with 914 billionaires this year but a more modest projected growth rate of 12 percent over the next five years.
After the US, Knight Frank listed China at 485 billionaires, India at 207, Germany at 165, Russia at 114 and Britain at 100, and said Saudi Arabia is set for the fastest increase, with billionaire numbers expected to jump 183 percent from 23 this year to 65 in 2031.
Overall, the report projected that the worldwide billionaire population could climb from 3,110 in 2026 to nearly 4,000 by 2031.
Canada’s broader ultra-wealthy cohort is also expanding.
As reported by the Post, Knight Frank said the number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) in Canada, defined as those worth US$30m or more, grew more than 21 percent between 2021 and 2026 to reach 12,920 this year.
The firm expects Canada’s UHNWI population to rise another 30 percent by 2031, adding nearly 4,000 people to reach 16,796 and making the country the 13th fastest-growing UHNWI market globally.
Knight Frank said the global UHNWI population increased from 551,435 to 713,626 over the past five years, with the US holding a 36 percent share that it expects will “intensify further” to 41 percent by 2031.
While wealth at the top accelerates, market and macro trends show how unevenly gains are distributed.
Reuters reported that Canadian household net worth rose by more than $1tn in 2025 to $18.6tn, largely because of appreciating financial assets as Canada’s natural resource-linked stock market posted its biggest increase since 2009 and outperformed major US indices.
However, the article said analysts see little evidence of a wealth effect lifting spending, noting that housing has more impact on perceived financial well-being and that home prices have been falling.
Canada is in its longest housing slump in recent decades and was the only G7 economy to record a nominal home price decline last year, based on Bank for International Settlements data and Reuters calculations.
Since the peak in February 2022, home prices have dropped 20 percent.
Housing hits consumers harder than stocks because downturns last longer than typical equity cycles, David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Rosenberg Research, told the same outlet, calling falling home prices “devastating.”
Who owns the assets driving net worth higher is also critical.
Reuters, citing Statistics Canada data, reported that almost 70 percent of financial assets are held by the wealthiest 20 percent of Canadians.
At the same time, the outlet said surveys suggest that stock market participation excluding group retirement plans is below 50 percent, while about two-thirds of households own their home and many have mortgages.
Households view stock portfolios as “ephemeral paper wealth,” Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, told the outlet, adding that the family home instead anchors long-term financial plans and supports the credit cycle.
