This latest increase means 65,335 people have joined the ranks of the ultra-wealthy (Over $30 million in net worth) over the past decade –a rise of 61%. In total, there are now 172,850 individuals in this cohort who hold wealth totalling $20.8 trillion, an increase of $700bn during 2014.
Nearly 1,180 people became centa-millionaires in 2014, taking the world’s total population
of those worth over $100 million to 38,280.
At the top of the wealth tree 53 individuals became billionaires last year, pushing global membership of this exclusive club to 1,844 – an 82% rise from the number recorded in 2004.
Asia overtook North America as the region with the second-largest UHNWI growth. Some 1,419 people moved past the $30m+ mark in Asia in 2014, after an increase of fewer than 1,000 in 2013.
Europe held onto the top spot with the most new entrants into the ultra-wealthy bracket over 2014. The ultra-wealthy in Asia now also hold more in total wealth, with net assets of $5.9tn, than those in North America, with $5.5 trillion.
There were 2,180,100 HNWIs in Japan in 2014, holding USD 9.2 trillion in wealth. Growth in HNWI numbers and wealth is forecast to improve in the offing, with the country’s HNWI population set to grow by just over 8% and HNWI wealth expected to grow by 22.8% to reach USD 11.8 trillion by 2019-end.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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