The firm’s inaugural World Ultra Wealth Report found that the US remains the biggest UHNW market by far, but forecast that the Asia Pacific region would overtake it in 2032.
Nearly 63,000 North American UHNW individuals – defined as those with a net worth of at least $30m – control total assets of $8.2trn, Wealth-X reported. Of these, over 90% live in the US, with the greatest concentrations of wealthy individuals in California, New York, Texas, Florida and Illinois. These five states account for more than 50% of UHNW wealth in the US.
Europe is the next-largest UHNW market, with almost 55,000 individuals owning combined assets of $6.8trn. Germany has the biggest UHNW population (16,000), followed by the UK (10,000), Switzerland (5,000), France (4,000) and Italy (2,000). Russia was ranked eighth within Europe, with 6% of the ultra-wealthy controlling almost 80% of UHNW wealth in the country.
More than 40,000 Asia Pacific UHNW individuals account for a total of $6.2trn, placing the region third overall. Japan is the largest market, closely followed by mainland China and India. However, Wealth-X said it expects Asia Pacific to surpass Europe in 2024, and the US in 2032.
“As Asia-Pacific prepares to welcome more members into the UHNW club, there are tremendous opportunities for wealth professionals in helping Asia’s future UHNW amass their wealth, grow their fortunes for future generations and [institutionalise] their legacy,” it added.
Wealth-X used government, banking and media sources, in addition to research generated from its own database, to compile the report. Net worth valuations were calculated across a range of assets, including: shares in public and private companies, income sources, residential and investment properties, art collections, planes, cash and other investable assets.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded here (registration required).
