Nigeria gains 900 new dollar millionaires as stocks, naira recovery lift wealth

Nigeria's dollar millionaire population rose to 8,100 in June 2026 from 7,200 a year earlier, adding 900 people with more than $1 million in liquid wealth, according to global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. The increase is Nigeria's first annual rise in millionaire numbers since 2022, following heavy wealth losses during the naira's sharp depreciation in 2023 and 2024.

“The number of millionaires in the country is up from last year, which is positive. The rise over the past year is mainly due to the strength of the naira against the US dollar and solid new business growth,” said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth. He added that the naira “has still performed very poorly over the full decade”, meaning the latest increase is only a partial recovery in Nigeria's dollar wealth.

Stock market drives wealth gains

For Muda Yusuf, founder and chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Nigeria's stock market is one of the biggest drivers of the increase. “From the point of view of the stock market, most of these millionaires are coming from the stock market because of their position in the value of stocks,” Yusuf said.

He cautioned against reading the rise as proof of stronger productivity. “It is not so much about the fact that there has been any significant increase in productivity or output that has resulted in this increase. Most of it is coming through the stock market,” he said.

Yusuf said rising equity and property values, supported by inflows into the economy, had increased the value of assets held by wealthy Nigerians. “It has to do more with asset acquisition, which is resulting from a lot of inflows into the economy, portfolio inflows in particular. This is driving up value and making a lot of assets appreciate.”

Naira millionaires versus dollar millionaires

Nigeria's capital market has recorded strong gains since President Bola Tinubu took office in 2023, creating substantial wealth for existing investors. Temi Popoola, group managing director and chief executive officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, recently estimated that reforms under the Tinubu administration had created between 500,000 and 900,000 naira millionaires through capital-market gains.

“Mr President, tied to all this is a lot of wealth that has been created for many people. We don't have exact figures, but we estimate that about 500,000 to 900,000 millionaires have been created as a result of reforms,” he said.

Popoola's estimate differs from New World Wealth's 8,100 figure because it counts naira millionaires created through capital-market gains, not people with more than $1 million in liquid wealth. New World Wealth captures Nigeria's dollar-denominated wealthy population, while Popoola's estimate points to a broader group of Nigerians whose wealth has risen through higher asset prices.

Sector growth and market performance

Latest National Bureau of Statistics GDP data show real GDP growth in the financial institutions sector slowed to 8.40 percent in the first quarter of 2026, from 15.91 percent in the same period of 2025. Trade grew 2.08 percent, up from 1.78 percent a year earlier, while telecommunications expanded faster at 12.24 percent, compared with 7.82 percent in the first quarter of 2025.

Real estate growth slowed to 2.29 percent from 4.61 percent, while arts, entertainment and recreation accelerated to 11.25 percent from 9.63 percent. These sectors are main channels for private wealth: bank and financial-market investments, telecommunications, property, retail businesses and the creative economy.

Popoola ranked the Nigerian market as the second-best performer among selected global markets in the first half of 2026, with a return of 57 percent. South Korea's KOSPI led with 101 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 39 percent, Kenya's NSE returned 27 percent, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index 24 percent and the FTSE 100 6 percent.

He attributed the rally to the Investments and Securities Act 2025, foreign-exchange reforms, banking recapitalisation, stronger corporate earnings and higher dividends. He described it as a broad “re-rating of Nigeria” driven by returning investor confidence, deeper capital formation and improved corporate fundamentals.

The growth in wealthy Nigerians could have wider implications for consumption, employment, investment and government revenue, but the size and nature of the wealth gains will determine how much of that benefit reaches the broader economy.