The rich get richer, and more numerous
Around the world the very rich managed to improve their lot, but the gains were only a fraction of recent years.
The global ultra high net worth (UHNW) population showed resilient growth in 2020 despite the huge disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the world’s wealthiest population — those with a net worth of more than $US30m — grew by 1.7 per cent, adding 4730 individuals to bring the total to 295,450. Their combined fortune rose 2 per cent to $US35.5 trillion, according to Wealth-X’s ninth annual World Ultra Wealth Report.
Last year’s ultra-wealth expansion was much slower than the near double-digit pace in 2019, but represented a sharp increase from 2018’s flat growth rate of 0.8 per cent, according to Wealth-X, a global provider of information on the wealthy.
The expansion was driven by monetary stimulus from global central banks and a strong rally in financial markets, with almost all major stockmarket indices posting healthy annual returns by year’s end.
The report is in sync with others by wealth-tracking firms that show the rich weathered the pandemic with the help of the rising equity markets.
North America and Asia continued to lead in ultra-wealth creation. In North America, the UHNW population grew 6.9 per cent in 2020 to 112,250 individuals. Their combined wealth rose 7.1 per cent to $US13.4 trillion. Asia’s UHNW population and their joint wealth both increased 5.2 per cent with 87,460 individuals possessing $US10.2 trillion.
All other regions, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific posted a decline in their ultra-wealthy populations.
According to the report: ‘‘The UHNW population in the Pacific — which is largely a reflection of developments in Australia — fell by 3.9 per cent to 3660 individuals. Wealth holdings took a hit from commodity market weakness and protracted travel and tourism restrictions, with cumulative net worth falling 2.5 per cent to $US357bn.”
Other key findings in the report include:
● The US, with 101,240, had the largest UHNW population, followed by China with 29,815, and Japan with 21,300.
● France saw the largest decline in its ultra-wealthy population, down 10.8 per cent to 9810.
● San Jose, California, had the highest density of UHNW individuals, with one for every 727 residents. This concentration is 2½ times greater than New York, the world’s largest UHNW city, with 11,475 individuals.
● Paris’s ranking fell two places to seventh as its UHNW population fell 13.7 per cent to 3765.
● London, which suffered a 17 per cent decline in the size of its ultra-wealthy class, dropped from seventh to 12th and out of the top-tier rankings for the first time since 2004.
● The share of self-made ultra-wealthy increased to 72.5 per cent, compared to 66.5 per cent in 2016.
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