Number of rich individuals drops in all regions, though Middle East bucks the trend
A wealth report published by Capgemini SA and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) says that India saw an 18% fall in its rich population followed by Hong Kong which saw a decline of 17.4% in its millionaire count.
A weak currency market and fall in stock markets over the past few years has resulted in the fall of HNIs by 27,500 in 2011 to 125,500 in India. The fall has occurred twice in four years and wealth creation prospects remain dim in 2012, says the report.
“Indian equity-market capitalization dropped 33.4% in 2011, after a gain of 24.9% in 2010. That decline, and domestic factors such as increasing budget/fiscal deficit, contributed to a significant drop in India’s HNI population,” explains the report.
The world's population of millionaires grew by 0.8% to a record 11 million, yet their collective wealth fell by 1.7% to $42 trillion. Except the Middle East, all regions reported decline in wealth. It was the first global drop in millionaire wealth since the 2008 financial crisis, when the ranks of the wealthy fell by 15% and their wealth contracted by 20%.
TheUS remains the wealthiest country with 3,067,700 rich individuals who have immovable assets of $1 million (aroundRs 5.6 crore) or more, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables. America is followed by Germany with 951,200 millionaires. Japan, the US and Germany together account for 53.3% of the world’s HNIs in 2011 compared to 53.1% in 2010.
“In terms of assets, HNIs’ investable wealth totaled $11.4 trillion in North America, down 2.3% from 2010; $10.7 trillion in Asia-Pacific, down 1.1%; $10.1 trillion in Europe, down 1.1%; and a 2.9% decline in Latin America,” says the report.
The overall decline in wealth was majorly due to disproportionate investment—higher investment in risky assets like hedge funds, private equity and real estate and lower in liquid assets. Diamonds continue to be a strong investment with prices increasing 20% over the previous year.
