The total wealth held by the world’s 172,850 ultra-high-net-worth individuals now stands at $20.8tn (£13.6tn), according to the Knight Frank 2015 Wealth Report. And the estimated investment into commercial property by private individuals hit $153bn last year.
The number of UHNWIs – those with a net worth of more than $30m – increased by 3% between 2013 and 2014 and is expected to grow by 34% over the next 10 years.
Some 82% of wealth advisers said the net worth of their ultra-rich clients increased over the past 12 months, with 80% anticipating a further rise in 2015.
More than 500 private bankers and wealth advisers from across the world were surveyed for the report, which revealed that the biggest wealth change in 2014 was in Africa, where 89% of respondents reported an increase in wealth. A further 82% predicted this wealth increase would continue in 2015, followed by Asia at 75% and Australasia at 69%.
Countries with the biggest influx of high-net-worth individuals over the past decade were the UK, Singapore and the US. London, New York and Hong Kong were listed as the top three most important cities in the world to UHNWIs. On the flipside, countries that have seen the greatest departure of ultra-rich residents are China, India and France.
Cities with rapidly growing high and ultra-high-net worth populations were named as Belgrade in Serbia, Panama City, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Yangon in Myanmar.
