The U.S. is minting more millionaires than ever. Here's why.

The U.S. minted 736,000 new millionaires last year, bringing the total number of Americans with such wealth to a record 8.7 million, according to a new report. Millionaire wealth is measured by investable assets, excluding individuals' primary residences, collectibles, consumables and consumer durable goods, consulting firm Capgemini said in its World Wealth Report 2026 , released Thursday. The number of U.S. millionaires is the highest since Capgemini started tracking wealth trends three decades ago, the company told CBS News. The stock market was a primary driver of the surge in new millionaires, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising about 18% and 21% last year, respectively. Wealthy Americans also increased their equity allocations last year by about 5 percentage points, from 22% to 27% of their portfolios, boosting their wealth, Capgemini said. The jump in the number of millionaires also underscores a widening divide in the U.S. between low- and high-income households as many Americans struggle to afford the cost of living . Households earning below $50,000 a year are increasingly gloomy, while those with incomes above $100,000 are showing greater confidence, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok. "This divergence is likely driven by lower-income households worrying about rising gas prices, while higher-income households are focusing on rising stock prices," Slok wrote in a May 6 blog post . …