Number of Millionaires Swells in Asia and Other Places Around the World
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
June 24, 2010 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The ranks of the financial elite grew around the world in 2009 after sharp declines in 2008, but that didn’t necessarily translate into increased giving, according to a new report.
The 2010 World Wealth Report found that in North America the very wealthy dedicated a smaller share of their assets to philanthropy than they did in 2008. In Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, the proportion increased slightly.
For the last 14 years, Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management have published the report, which tracks the number and distribution of high-net-worth individuals—defined as people with assets of $1-million or more available to invest—and the economic trends that affect them.
In 2009 the number of such wealthy people worldwide increased 17.1 percent compared with 2008, to 10 million, and their collective wealth grew 18.9 percent, to $39-trillion.
By contrast, the global population of high-net-worth individuals fell by 14.9 percent in 2008 compared with the previous year, and the value of their combined wealth decreased by 19.5 percent to $32.8-trillion.
Professional Advice
The very wealthy are taking a more strategic approach to their giving, according to the report.
A survey of wealth-management companies that was conducted as part of the study found that nearly half of all firms—48 percent—reported that their clients were asking for philanthropic advice on “project organization and selection.”
“Today’s philanthropists generally want to make sure their giving actually makes a difference,” write the authors of the report, “and are likely to demand the same kind of professional advice in making these types of investments as they do when considering investments designed to meet other financial and lifestyle objectives.”
Financial gains were especially strong in Asia.
The number of people in Asia with assets of $1-million or more available to invest grew by 25.8 percent, to 3 million, which equaled the number of such wealthy people in Europe for the first time in the study’s history.
The combined wealth held by the very wealthy in Asia jumped 30.9 percent to $9.7-trillion, surpassing the $9.5-trillion held by such individuals in Europe.
Yet despite those impressive gains, the ranks of the very wealthy remain very concentrated.
The study found that in 2009, 53.5 percent of all high-net-worth individuals were from the United States, Japan, and Germany, which is only a slight decrease from 54 percent in 2008.
