India to see fastest rise of super-rich over next five years

Asia is on track to become the world's second largest wealth hub by 2024, with India being the main engine for this growth, outpacing neighboring China and Indonesia, according to the Knight Frank consultancy forecast.

After rising by more than six percent in 2019 to 513,200 people, the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) — those who have a fortune of more than $30 million — is expected to further expand over a five-year period. According to the firm's recent Wealth Report, the super rich population will jump by 27 percent to nearly 650,000.

As the Asia-Pacific region hosts the fastest-growing economies, it is not surprising that most of new multimillionaires are building fortunes in countries such as India and China. The former had less than 6,000 ultra-rich individuals last year, but the figure is projected to increase by 73 percent — the fastest pace in Asia and across the globe.

India will be followed by Egypt and Vietnam, the super-rich population of which is set to jump by 66 percent and 64 percent, respectively. China will not make it into the top three, with expected UHNWI population growth of 58 percent, followed by Indonesia and Tanzania.

The US is currently first in the wealth race, hosting 240,575 ultra-rich individuals — more than Europe and Asia combined. It will apparently keep the leading position, but will enjoy just 22 percent growth in the number of people worth more than $30 million in the next five years, one percent less than Russia.

The Wealth Report's findings are based on projected GDP growth, house prices, equity performance, interest rates and other asset classes that individuals hold. To make a clearer picture and evaluate net wealth, Knight Frank also looks at primary residences and second homes not owned primarily as investments.

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