Surveys
Asia-Pacific To Become Number One Home To The Ultra-Wealthy By 2032

The population of ultra high net worth individuals in Asia-Pacific will surpass Europe’s UHNW population in 2024 and the US’ in 2032, the research firm Wealth-X announced in a report this morning.
The firm's claims are based on its own forecasts and it cites differing growth rates between the economies as a major backer to these. For 2011, the International Monetary Fund’s projected gross domestic product growth is 8.4 per cent for Asia, 1.5 per cent for the US, and 1.6 per cent for Europe. This is an indicator that, in terms of growth, Asia has unhitched itself from the two economies and is now headed out on its own, Wealth-X believes.
The report defines UHNW individuals and families as those with $30 million or above in net worth.
There are 185,795 of these individuals around the world with total assets reaching $25 trillion, the report estimates. Of this group 1,235 are billionaires, with their fortunes totaling $4.18 trillion. This means the top 2.5 per cent of UHNW individuals control close to a quarter of the total assets of this group.
The largest portion of ultra-wealthy individuals resides in North America, and these 62,960 individuals control nearly a third of all UHNW assets.
With 54,325 ultra-wealthy individuals, Europe has the second highest amount, their total assets reaching $6.8 trillion. Germany’s 15,925 rich residents are the biggest contributor to this, with the UK coming in second at 10,450, Switzerland in third with 5,200, and France in fourth with 4,400.
The Asia-Pacific region has 42,525 UHNW individuals, their total assets reaching $6.2 trillion. The region is therefore the third largest home to this group.
Other findings in the report were that the European UHNW community is showing more and more favor towards Asia, lured by its attractive tax environments, and that future predicted hotspots for wealth management include Russia, Indonesia, India, and Egypt.
Wealth-X has offices in London, New York, Sydney, Guangzhou, Lugano, Mumbai, with its headquarters in Singapore.