Singapore had about 242,400 resident millionaires in 2025 by Henley & Partners' count, which uses liquid investable wealth of US$1 million or more and leaves out your home. UBS counts wealth differently and puts the figure higher, at roughly 331,000 US-dollar millionaires once property and CPF are included. Both numbers are real; they just measure different things, and that gap is the most useful thing to understand here. A US$1 million is about S$1.3 million in net worth, which a paid-off four-room flat plus a healthy CPF balance can get close to on its own. The more interesting question than 'how many' is 'how', because the path into that group is more open than the headlines suggest. This guide gives you both: the verified 2026 figures, where the top-1% line really sits, and the repeatable ways salaried Singaporeans cross the million mark.
There is no official count, because no agency tracks individual net worth in Singapore. The figures come from private wealth firms, and they disagree because they measure different things.
Henley & Partners, working with New World Wealth, put Singapore at 242,400 resident millionaires in its 2025 Wealthiest Cities report, ranking the city fourth in the world behind New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo. Their definition is strict: a millionaire holds liquid investable wealth of US$1 million or more, counting shares, cash, bonds and crypto, but not the home they live in. Singapore's count rose 62% over the past decade on that measure, far ahead of Tokyo's 3% to 4%.
UBS uses a wider definition in its Global Wealth Report 2025, counting total net worth per adult including property and CPF, and arrives at roughly 331,000 US-dollar millionaires. The two are not in conflict: Henley asks how many people hold a million in movable money, UBS asks how many are worth a million once you net off their debts.
Either way, that is around 1 in 18 adults, and the country also hosts 333 centi-millionaires (US$100 million or more) and 30 billionaires. The label is rarer than the headlines suggest, and rarer still once you strip out the value locked in a flat you cannot sell without needing somewhere else to live.
| Source | Figure | What it counts | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henley & Partners / New World Wealth | 242,400 resident millionaires | Liquid investable wealth US$1m+, excludes home | 2025 |
| UBS Global Wealth Report | ~331,000 USD millionaires | Total net worth incl. property and CPF | 2025 report |
| Henley centi-millionaires (US$100m+) | 333 individuals | Liquid investable wealth US$100m+ | 2025 |
| Henley billionaires | 30 individuals | Liquid investable wealth US$1bn+ | 2025 |
A million is the bottom rung. The wealth tiers stack steeply above it, and the rarer rungs are what wealth firms really track. High-net-worth individuals (US$1 million to US$30 million) make up the broad base. Above them sit ultra-high-net-worth individuals, then centi-millionaires holding US$100 million or more, and at the very top the billionaires. Singapore had 333 centi-millionaires in Henley's 2025 count, a small group that holds a hugely outsized share of total private wealth.
The two main 2025 reports disagree on the headline million count, but they line up on the shape of the ladder: a wide band of single-digit-million households, thinning fast toward the tens of millions, then a tiny apex. UBS reported Singapore's average wealth per adult at about US$442,000, well above the global figure, while median wealth sat near US$113,000. The gap between average and median is the ladder made visible; a handful of very large fortunes drag the average far above what a typical adult actually holds.
For your own planning, the takeaway is that each rung needs a different engine. CPF and a paid-down home carry most households to the first rung. The rungs above it almost always need decades of investing surplus income, because salaried savings and property equity tend to top out in the low single-digit millions. Track where you sit with a net worth calculator rather than guessing from your salary.
| Tier | Net worth band | Singapore count (latest) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millionaire (resident, liquid) | US$1m+ investable, excl. home | 242,400 | Henley 2025 |
| Total-net-worth millionaire | US$1m+ incl. home and CPF | ~331,000 | UBS 2025 |
| Centi-millionaire | US$100m+ investable | 333 | Henley 2025 |
| Billionaire (Henley, liquid) | US$1bn+ investable | 30 | Henley 2025 |
| Billionaire (Forbes, total) | US$1bn+ total net worth | 55 | Forbes 2026 |
Even at the very top, the measure changes the number. Henley counted 30 billionaires using liquid investable wealth, while the Forbes 2026 World's Billionaires list put Singapore at 55, up from 49 in 2025 and a touch over four years after the count sat at single figures. Forbes uses total net worth, including stakes in private companies and businesses that Henley's liquid-only definition leaves out, which is why its tally runs higher. The same home-versus-investable logic that splits the million count splits the billionaire count too.
Those 55 billionaires held a combined US$155.7 billion in 2026, about 7% more than the year before. The richest is Jason Chang of semiconductor firm ASE Technology Holding at roughly US$14.2 billion, followed by Mindray's Li Xiting at about US$11.2 billion and Far East Organization's Philip Ng near US$7.2 billion. Several are first-generation founders or recent arrivals rather than old Singapore money, which fits the wider pattern of the city pulling in wealth from across the region.
For an ordinary reader, the billionaire count is a barometer of Singapore's pull as a wealth hub, not a measure of how the median household is doing. A rising apex says the country keeps attracting and minting large fortunes; it says nothing about whether your own path to the first million got any easier.
The roughly 90,000-person gap between Henley's 242,400 and UBS's 331,000 is almost entirely about housing and CPF. Singapore's wealth sits in homes. Home ownership runs above 87%, and residential property is the largest single asset class on the national household balance sheet. A retiree in a fully paid four-room flat in a mature estate can easily be a paper millionaire on a total-net-worth basis while holding very little cash.
Henley strips the home out because a primary residence is not investable. You cannot spend the kitchen. That gives a count of people with real financial firepower. UBS keeps the home in because, economically, it is still wealth you own. Neither is wrong, but they answer different questions, and a headline that quotes one number as the whole truth is misleading.
This matters for your own thinking. If your net worth crosses a million only because your flat appreciated, you are wealthy on paper but not liquid; selling to realise it means buying or renting somewhere else at today's prices. Separate the two: total net worth tells you your standing, liquid net worth tells you your options. Split them out in a net worth calculator rather than tracking one number.
Almost every wealth report quotes US dollars, not Singapore dollars. A US$1 million millionaire holds about S$1.3 million depending on the exchange rate, so a person with exactly S$1 million is not yet a US-dollar millionaire by the reports' standard, even though most Singaporeans would call them one. Check the currency before comparing yourself to any threshold.
A millionaire is defined by net worth, not salary. Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe: the equity in your flat, your CPF, your investments and cash, minus your home loan and any other debt. You can earn S$400,000 a year and have a negative net worth if you spend it all; you can earn S$90,000 and be a millionaire after decades of saving and a paid-off flat.
This is why so many Singaporeans are quietly close to the line without feeling rich. A couple in their early 50s who bought a four-room flat two decades ago might hold S$600,000 to S$800,000 of property equity, S$300,000 to S$400,000 combined in CPF, and another S$200,000 in savings and investments. That is near or past S$1.3 million on paper, yet their cash flow looks ordinary because most of it is locked in bricks and in CPF they cannot freely spend.
Being a millionaire and being top 1% are no longer the same thing here, because a million has become fairly common. Knight Frank's Wealth Report put the entry point for Singapore's top 1% at about US$5.23 million, around S$7 million, the highest bar in Asia and among the highest in the world. So clearing S$1.3 million makes you a millionaire, but it places you somewhere in the top 10% to 20%, not the top 1%. Estimates for the lower bands vary by source, so treat the ranges below as directional; they move year to year with property and market values.
The fuller picture sits in the Ministry of Finance occasional paper published in February 2026, using the Household Expenditure Survey 2023. Average household net worth was about S$1.755 million, but that average is pulled up hard by the wealthiest, so it is not the typical figure. The middle 20% of households averaged about S$994,000, the top 20% around S$5.264 million, and the bottom 20% about S$293,000. About 59% of household assets are tied up in property and 20% in CPF, so for many households most wealth is illiquid by design.
The practical takeaway: the first million is a realistic target for a disciplined dual-income household over a working life, and much of it can come from CPF and a paid-down home. The jump to top-1% territory at S$7 million almost always requires sustained investing on top, because property and CPF alone tend to plateau in the low millions.
| Band | Approx. net worth | Roughly equals |
|---|---|---|
| Top 10% | S$800,000 to S$1.2 million | Paid-down flat + solid CPF |
| Top 5% | S$1.5 million to S$2.5 million | The above + meaningful investments |
| Top 1% | ~S$7 million (US$5.23m) | Property + CPF + a large invested portfolio |
The least glamorous route to seven figures is also the most reliable, because the government underwrites the return. CPF pays a floor of 2.5% a year on the Ordinary Account and 4% on the Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts, with the 4% floor extended through 31 December 2026. Members under 55 earn an extra 1% on the first S$60,000 of combined balances, and members 55 and up earn an extra 2% on the first S$30,000 and 1% on the next S$30,000. Those rates are guaranteed by the state, which makes CPF closer to a risk-free bond than anything you can buy in the market.
Run a normal career through that machine and the numbers add up. A 30-year-old earning S$5,000 a month sees roughly S$1,850 a month flow into CPF once you count both employee and employer shares. Left to compound at CPF rates for 35 years, that alone can grow past S$1.2 million by age 65 before top-ups. This is the engine behind the 1M65 idea popularised by Loo Cheng Chuan: a couple who both keep their CPF working can target S$1 million between them before retirement.
The catch is liquidity. Most CPF money is ring-fenced for housing, healthcare and retirement, so a CPF millionaire is wealthy on the statement but cannot spend it like a bank balance. From 55 you can withdraw above your Retirement Account sum, but the sum stays put to fund your payouts. Model your own trajectory with a CPF contribution calculator.
For 2026, the Retirement Account benchmarks frame how much CPF wealth is locked versus withdrawable. The Basic Retirement Sum is S$110,200, the Full Retirement Sum is S$220,400, and the Enhanced Retirement Sum is S$440,800. Topping up toward the higher sums buys bigger guaranteed payouts later plus a tax relief now, which is why CPF top-ups are a staple move for people chasing the first million efficiently.
| Item | 2026 value |
|---|---|
| Ordinary Account interest (floor) | 2.5% p.a. |
| Special / MediSave / Retirement Account interest (floor) | 4.0% p.a. (extended to 31 Dec 2026) |
| Extra interest, under 55 | +1% on first S$60,000 combined |
| Extra interest, 55 and above | +2% on first S$30,000, +1% on next S$30,000 |
| Basic Retirement Sum (turning 55 in 2026) | S$110,200 |
| Full Retirement Sum (turning 55 in 2026) | S$220,400 |
| Enhanced Retirement Sum (2026) | S$440,800 |
CPF gets you to the first million slowly and safely. Going beyond it, into the top few percent, almost always means investing surplus income in growth assets over decades. A global equity index returning around 7% a year roughly doubles money every 10 years, the shortcut known as the rule of 72. Put S$1,000 a month into a low-cost index fund for 35 years at 7% and you land around S$1.6 million from contributions of S$420,000. The gap is compounding doing the heavy lifting.
Time in the market beats timing it. Someone who starts at 25 with S$500 a month and never raises it can out-finish someone who starts at 40 with S$1,500 a month, purely because the early dollars compound for 15 extra years. The highest-leverage decision for a young Singaporean is to start investing now with whatever is spare, not wait for a perfect strategy. A compound interest calculator makes the gap between starting at 25 and 35 painfully clear.
The vehicles matter less than the discipline, but they matter for cost. Globally diversified index ETFs and unit trusts keep fees low, robo-advisers automate the contributions, and the Supplementary Retirement Scheme adds a tax deduction. The how to start investing in Singapore guide covers opening an account and your first trade. The non-negotiables are low fees, broad diversification, and automatic monthly contributions you do not have to think about.
For the generation that bought HDB flats in the 1990s and 2000s, property did much of the wealth-building for them. A flat bought for S$200,000 to S$300,000 that is now worth S$600,000 to S$900,000, with the loan long paid off, is several hundred thousand dollars of net worth created largely by holding and paying down a mortgage. It is also forced saving: every instalment converts cash into equity you keep.
Whether property still works that way for someone buying in 2026 is a fair question. Prices are far higher, the Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps how much you can borrow, and a 99-year lease means an old flat eventually decays in value. A first home is still one of the more reliable wealth builders because of forced saving and government grants, but it is no longer the near-automatic windfall it was for the previous generation.
The honest framing for a young buyer: buy a home you can comfortably afford, treat the equity you build as a real part of your net worth, and do not assume property alone will make you a millionaire the way it did for your parents. Pair the purchase with separate investing so your wealth is not 90% concentrated in one leasehold flat. Run the numbers with a mortgage calculator and read the HDB housing grants guide to claim every grant you qualify for.
By Henley's 2025 count, Singapore is the world's fourth-richest city for resident millionaires, behind New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo, and ahead of Los Angeles and London. For a city-state of under six million people, that is a striking density. Henley's data has Singapore on track to keep closing the gap on Tokyo as Asia's wealth pulls toward the south.
The growth rate is the more telling number. Singapore's millionaire population rose about 62% over the past decade, far ahead of Tokyo's roughly 3% to 4% and well clear of most established hubs. A city that small climbing this fast is unusual, and it is what makes Singapore a magnet story rather than an old-money one.
| Rank | City | Resident millionaires | Centi-millionaires (US$100m+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 384,500 | 818 |
| 2 | San Francisco Bay Area | 342,400 | — |
| 3 | Tokyo | 292,300 | — |
| 4 | Singapore | 242,400 | 333 |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 220,600 | 516 |
| 6 | London | 215,700 | 352 |
A large part of Singapore's millionaire growth is imported, not home-grown. Stable government, low crime, strong rule of law, the tax rules covered below, and a deep family-office sector pulled in wealthy individuals from across Asia and beyond over the past decade. That inflow has cooled sharply: Henley's Private Wealth Migration report projected a net gain of about 1,600 millionaires moving to Singapore in 2025, down from roughly 3,500 the year before, ranking the city sixth globally behind the UAE (net 9,800) and the US (7,500). Tighter scrutiny on family offices after the 2023 S$3 billion money-laundering case and global competition for the same migrants both played a part.
For ordinary residents, imported wealth shows up in property and luxury prices rather than your bank balance. A rising millionaire count does not make you richer; if anything it can make the homes and schools those millionaires compete for more expensive. Read the statistic as a story about Singapore's appeal as a wealth hub, not how the median family is doing.
Singapore's tax regime is a quiet reason both migrants and locals can build and hold wealth efficiently. There is no capital gains tax: profit on shares, funds or property you sell as an investor is generally not taxed, so a portfolio that compounds for 30 years keeps every dollar of its growth instead of surrendering a slice on each sale. The caveat is that gains from frequent property or share trading can be treated as taxable income, since the rules look at intent, holding period and how often you transact. Long-term investing is left alone; running a trading business in disguise is not.
Estate duty was abolished for deaths on or after 15 February 2008, so wealth passes to the next generation without a death tax eroding it. There is also no dividend withholding tax for residents and no inheritance tax. Stack those together and Singapore lets a fortune compound, be sold, and be handed down with very little leakage, which is exactly why family offices and wealthy migrants chose it over higher-tax jurisdictions.
The practical point for a local saver is that the system rewards buy-and-hold investing more than most places do. The same S$1,000 a month into a global index fund grows untaxed on the way up and untaxed when you eventually sell, so the compounding maths in the investing section is not dented by a capital gains bill. Use a income tax calculator to see what is taxed (your salary) versus what is not (your investment gains), and weigh a Supplementary Retirement Scheme top-up via the SRS versus CPF top-up comparison.
The first million matters less than where it sits and what it can do. S$1.3 million locked in your home and CPF supports a comfortable retirement but does not free up your cash flow. The same amount in liquid, invested assets is closer to genuine security because, at a conservative 3% to 4% withdrawal rate, it can throw off roughly S$40,000 to S$50,000 a year without you touching the principal.
The figure that decides whether you are financially free is not your net worth but the income your assets can safely generate. By that yardstick the goal is not 'become a millionaire' but 'own enough income-producing assets to cover your annual expenses', which for many Singaporeans means a larger and more liquid number than one million. If financial independence is what you are after, a FIRE calculator reframes the target around spendable income rather than a headline net worth.
Singapore's millionaires are real, and the path into that group is more open than the number suggests. It runs through CPF discipline, a home bought within your means, and decades of unglamorous investing, not a secret most people are missing. Start the three engines early, protect them from your own worst impulses, and the maths does the rest. The million is a milestone, not the finish line.
Henley & Partners counted 242,400 resident millionaires in 2025 using liquid investable wealth of US$1 million or more, excluding the home. UBS, which includes property and CPF, puts the figure higher at roughly 331,000 US-dollar millionaires. The difference is whether your home counts. Either way, that is around 1 in 18 adults.
The standard bar is US$1 million in net worth, about S$1.3 million at 2026 rates. That counts your home equity, CPF, investments and cash, minus your loans. It is net worth, not salary or money in the bank, which is why many older Singaporeans with a paid-off flat are paper millionaires without feeling rich.
Roughly US$5.23 million, about S$7 million, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report, the highest top-1% threshold in Asia. Being a plain millionaire at S$1.3 million places you in roughly the top 10% to 20%, not the top 1%, because a single million has become fairly common here.
Yes, and most local millionaires are exactly that. A dual-income household that keeps CPF compounding, buys a home within its means, and invests surplus income into low-cost index funds for 25 to 35 years can realistically reach S$1 million or more. CPF alone can grow past S$1.2 million over a full career for a median earner.
Someone whose CPF balances total S$1 million or more, built through decades of mandatory contributions compounding at CPF's guaranteed rates of 2.5% on the Ordinary Account and 4% on the Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts, often with voluntary top-ups. The 1M65 movement popularised the idea. The money is largely locked for housing, healthcare and retirement.
A meaningful share of the growth came from wealthy migrants drawn by stability, the absence of capital gains and inheritance tax, and a strong family-office sector; the millionaire count rose about 62% over the past decade. That inflow slowed in 2025 to a projected net 1,600 millionaires, down from around 3,500 in 2024.
On the Forbes 2026 World's Billionaires list, the richest is Jason Chang, chairman of semiconductor firm ASE Technology Holding, at about US$14.2 billion. Next are Mindray's Li Xiting at around US$11.2 billion and Far East Organization's Philip Ng near US$7.2 billion. Singapore had 55 billionaires in 2026, up from 49 in 2025, with a combined net worth of about US$155.7 billion.
Henley's 2025 report ranks Singapore fourth in the world for resident millionaires with 242,400, behind New York (384,500), the San Francisco Bay Area (342,400) and Tokyo (292,300), and ahead of Los Angeles (220,600) and London (215,700). Singapore's count grew about 62% over the decade, far faster than Tokyo's 3% to 4%.
No. Singapore has no capital gains tax, so investment profit on shares, funds or property you sell as an investor is generally not taxed, though frequent trading can be treated as taxable income. Estate duty was abolished for deaths on or after 15 February 2008, and there is no inheritance tax. This low-leakage regime is a major reason wealthy individuals and family offices base themselves here, and it lets local savers compound investments untaxed.
It depends what the million is made of. S$1.3 million in income-producing investments can safely throw off around S$40,000 to S$50,000 a year, which covers a modest lifestyle; the same figure tied up in home equity does not. Financial independence depends on the spendable income your assets generate, not the headline net worth.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.