US billionaires grew $1.5 trillion richer under Trump, up 22%. Here's how to follow their lead and build your own wealth

If it feels like the rich keep getting richer, the numbers suggest you're not imagining it. America's billionaire class saw one of its biggest wealth surges in recent memory last year.

U.S. billionaires added roughly $1.5 trillion to their collective wealth in 2025, pushing their total fortunes from about $6.7 trillion to $8.2 trillion.

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This marks a 22% jump in just one year, according to a report published by Americans for Tax Fairness, based on an analysis of Forbes data (1). And that's before Elon Musk, however briefly, became the world's first trillionaire following SpaceX's propulsive IPO in early June.

Aside from the big names, there was also growth among those just entering this exclusive club. The number of American billionaires grew 15%, from 814 to 935.

Zoom out globally, and the trend looks even more dramatic. Worldwide billionaire wealth hit a record $15.8 trillion in 2025, driven by business creation, AI-driven gains and a massive wave of inheritance (2).

All told, 24% of American households are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a Bank of America Institute study (3). Millennials and Gen Xers were especially vulnerable compared to other demographics. Meanwhile, the savings rate for Americans, measured as the percentage of disposable income left after other expenses are covered, has stayed low at just 3.6% (4).

What's more, a survey conducted by the Century Foundation found that 24% of Americans skipped treatment and medication last year in order to save money (5). The same survey found that 34% said they skipped a meal in the past year — up from 25% in an earlier poll conducted just months prior.

As working-class households across the country struggle to remain afloat, the ultra-wealthy are pulling further ahead.

Wealth gains in 2025 were far from evenly distributed. Although markets rose overall, a larger share of those gains went to households at the very top — deepening an already pronounced concentration of wealth.

In the third quarter of last year, America's top 1%, which includes millionaires, owned 31.7% of all U.S. wealth, the biggest share recorded since the Fed started tracking this data in 1989 (6). That translates to roughly $55 trillion in assets — about the same amount held by the bottom 90% combined.

Adding to the imbalance, Oxfam International reported that billionaire wealth expanded three times faster in 2025, following President Donald Trump's election win, than its average growth rate over the previous five years (7).

But if you're struggling to get ahead yourself, there are lessons to be learned from the investing strategies used by the wealthy.

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going

For billionaires, wealth isn't just earned — it hums along quietly in the background, compounding over time.