World’s wealthiest people now richer than before the credit crunch, says study

World Wealth Report reveals soaring numbers of rich individuals in Asia Pacific region – but slower growth in Britain • Read the full report here The world’s wealthiest people were richer last year than they were before the 2008 banking crisis. There were also more of them in 2010 – 10.9m – than there were before the recession struck, according to a new report. But in the UK these so-called high net worth individuals (HNWIs) – people who have more than $1m (£620,000) of free cash – have not enjoyed a return to pre-crisis levels of wealth as sluggish economic growth holds back their prospects. According to the annual world wealth report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, the wealth of HNWIs around the world reached $42.7tn in 2010, rising by 9.7% and surpassing the peak of $40.7tn reached in 2007. The report also measures a category of ultra-high net worth individuals – essentially those with $30m to invest. This class of wealthy people rose by 10% to 103,000, while the value of their investments jumped by 11.5%. The performance of investments made by wealthy individuals in shares and commodities helped drive their wealth, which in turn fuelled “passion” purchases of luxuries such as such as Ferraris, diamonds, Chinese art and fine wines, particularly by the growing number of wealthy individuals in the emerging markets. North America is home to the highest number of rich people – some 3.4 million – but for the first time the Asia-Pacific region, with 3.3 million HNWIs, now has the second largest number, overtaking Europe. European’s wealth rose 7.2% to $10.2tn while Asia Pacific gained 12.1% to $10.8tn. The wealth of the richest people in the Asia Pacific region is now up 14.1% since 2007, although individuals in North America and Europe are yet to recoup the losses they suffered during the banking crisis. The growth in the number of rich individuals in the UK was among the slowest among the top 10 nations, showing a 1.4% rise to 454,000 and remaining below the 495,000 recorded in 2007. The report said that while the UK stock market rose almost 30% and GDP grew 1.3% – after contracting 4.9% in 2009 – the fortunes of the rich were held back by falling house prices and the rise in unemployment. Their prospects might improve next year, however. “Construction spending for the 2012 London Olympics is expected to help propel the economy and the housing market recovery,” the report said. Adam Horowitz, head of UK, Ireland and Israel at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, said that the overall improvement in wealth in 2010 was because of the rise in the value of investments. “Global capital markets and major asset classes performed well over the year on the back of rising investor risk appetite,” he said. “The shift toward equities in 2010 by HNWI investors reflected the search for returns and the desire to recoup more crisis-related losses. We also saw HNWIs continue to favour specific asset classes, such as equities and commodities, based on market opportunity or long-standing preferences.” The 1.4% rise in the number of rich people in the UK compares with a 7.2% rise in Germany and 8.3% in the US – where there are 3.1m HNWIs – and the 3.4% rise in France. India moved into the top 12, with a 20.8% rise to 153,000, for the first time, while Italy, 10th in the table, endured a contraction in the number of wealthy people from 190,000 to 170,000. Rich lists United States India China Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk

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