High-Net-Worth Individuals: Definitions of HNW, UHNW, UHNWF & UHNWI
High-net-worth individuals fall into categories
Perhaps you are a personal assistant that just got hired to work for a wealthy person, and you're new to the vernacular of this business. If so, here are some terms you should be familiar with:
High Net Worth (HNW)
Generally defined, this means that a person is worth at least one million net (cash in liquid assets).
Ultra-High Net Worth (UHNW)
This definition is a little ambiguous, but usually means that someone has a net worth between five and 30 million. Some people consider UHNW at $30 million, but not everyone agrees on this concept.
UHNWI
This is an ultra-high net worth individual (meaning that they are wealthy and unmarried).
UHNWF
This is an ultra-high net worth family.
When to use the hyphens with the HNWI population
Should it be "high net worth individual" or "high-net-worth individual"? The short answer is that it depends on the context.
Here is a quick grammar rule: Adjectives modify nouns. Compound adjectives are ones that have more than one word. If someone says, "I work for a high-net-worth individual," then the word "individual" is the noun and the words "high net worth" become a compound adjective and need hyphens. Just for clarity, here is an example with each used:
Here is a quick grammar rule: Adjectives modify nouns. Compound adjectives are ones that have more than one word. If someone says, "I work for a high-net-worth individual," then the word "individual" is the noun and the words "high net worth" become a compound adjective and need hyphens. Just for clarity, here is an example with each used:
- I am going to apply for a job working for a high-net-worth individual.
- One day I hope to have a high net worth.
VIDEO: A methodical breakdown on net worth
You may have noticed that I wasn't using the hyphens for all of the words in the phrase "ultra-high net worth family." There are two reasons for this:
- Firstly, it looks a little strange to have such a long compound adjective: ultra-high-net-worth family.
- There is a semantic and grammatical debate as to whether or not the "ultra-high" becomes the adjective and the rest is a noun. I looked into this a bit, and high-profile financial institutions that handle wealth management for HNWIs do NOT use all of the hyphens, so I'm not going to either.
Real Estate & Other Investable Assets
Definitions for UHNW for this industry
It's important to remember that the "1-million-dollar rule" when talking about wealth and liquidity can also apply to assets. For example, maybe someone doesn't have one million in cash, but they have liquidity in their primary residence -- even if they still owe money to the bank who financed it.
As long as the building is worth more than they owe, and their stake is at least one million, then technically they fall into the high-net-worth individual category.
As long as the building is worth more than they owe, and their stake is at least one million, then technically they fall into the high-net-worth individual category.
Forbes Ranking of High-Net-Worth Individuals
The Forbes annual world wealth report ranks high-net-worth individuals, which takes into consideration all financial aspects. The report is free and covers all HNWIs on a global scale, whether or not they are in retirement -- excluding any persons who have gained their wealth through any ill-gotten ways.
The report also specifies the countries of the holdings: including the USA, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other territories. As you might expect, there are concentrations is industrialized nations such as Japan, China, Germany, and the U.S.
The website also has other useful data like financial managers, who is an investor, banks owned by investors, annual spending, investments held, and even which individuals are banking or investing in other countries.
Some personal information is available as well: capital gains, tax, private investments, clients, and income categories. The world's billionaires now number almost 3,000, with about 800 in the U.S.
The report also specifies the countries of the holdings: including the USA, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other territories. As you might expect, there are concentrations is industrialized nations such as Japan, China, Germany, and the U.S.
The website also has other useful data like financial managers, who is an investor, banks owned by investors, annual spending, investments held, and even which individuals are banking or investing in other countries.
Some personal information is available as well: capital gains, tax, private investments, clients, and income categories. The world's billionaires now number almost 3,000, with about 800 in the U.S.
Final Thoughts about High-Net-Worth Individuals
In closing, I want to say that people who are billionaires (and people who work for billionaires) often don't use the word "billionaire." For the most part, I have seen financial services advisors and people in Family Offices use the abbreviations that we outlined here.
Additionally, professionals in our industry don't use the word "rich." More sophisticated words like "affluent" are more appropriate.
Additionally, professionals in our industry don't use the word "rich." More sophisticated words like "affluent" are more appropriate.
TAGS: net worth individual HNWI, million in liquid, worth of at least 1 million, financial services, investment accounts, estate planning, 2025
