Switzerland overtakes Germany.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A newly released report shows that the number of millionaire households in India increased significantly in 2013, and registered a record-high of 175,000 throughout the country.
The 14th annual global report from the Boston Consulting Group, entitled “Riding a Wave of Growth: Global Wealth 2014,” says that India ranked #15 overall, up one from #16 the year before, but ranked #13 in terms of Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individuals – defined as those with private financial wealth of more than $100 million – with 284 such households.
The #1 country in terms of millionaire households remains the US, with 7.135 million. China is #2 with 2.378 million, Japan is #3 with 1.24 million, and the UK is #4 with 513, 000 millionaire households – the same rankings that all four held the previous year.
Switzerland broke into the #5 spot this year, swapping places with Germany at #6; Switzerland registered 435,000 millionaire households last year, while Germany had 386,000. The countries ranked 7-14 all held their same positions from 2012: Canada, Taiwan, Italy, France, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia, and Australia, in descending order.
For millionaire and UHNW individuals, prospects for the future remains bright, says Boston Consulting Group.
“Wealth held by all segments above $1 million is projected to grow by at least 7.7% per year through 2018, compared with an average of 3.7% per year in segments below $1 million,” says the report. “Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) households, those with $100 million or more, held $8.4 trillion in wealth in 2013 (5.5% of the global total), an increase of 19.7% over 2012.”
The entire global cumulative of millionaire households grew by 16.3 million in 2013. In terms of total private wealth around the world, millionaire or otherwise, the number rose by an astonish $19.3 trillion in 2013, nearly double the $10.7 trillion rise that was seen over the previous year in 2012.
In terms of the density of millionaire households, Qatar ranked #1, with a proportion of 17.5% density. That means nearly one in every five households in Qatar belongs to a millionaire. The US density was only 5.9%, placing it at #7, while #12 United Arab Emirates was at 3.3%, and #13 Saudi Arabia was at 3.1%.
For UHNW households, Hong Kong had the highest density in 2013, with 16.8%, meaning that about one out of every six households belonged to a UHNW individual. The US ranked #12 again, with 3.9%, while the UK tied the US. India did not register on either density ranking, understandably.