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- Knight Frank's new wealth report shows that about 70 people a day became uber-rich last year.
- The total number of people worth at least $30 million rose by 4.2% to about 627,000 worldwide.
- The roaring US stock market and economy helped fuel the increase, but some luxury assets lost value.
Almost 70 people a day joined the ranks of the uber-wealthy last year, Knight Frank has revealed.
The newly minted members boosted the worldwide number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) by 4.2% to about 627,000, the real estate group said in its latest Wealth Report released on Wednesday.
A net worth of at least $30 million is required to be classed as a UHNWI. However, it only takes $5.8 million to rank in the top 1% of wealthy Americans, Knight Frank said.
North America had the fastest growth among the world's regions, with its UHNWIs rising by 7.2%. That reflected a strong showing from US stocks and a buoyant US economy as inflation cooled, hopes for AI advances and interest-rate cuts grew, growth proved resilient, and unemployment stayed at historic lows.
"The improving interest rate outlook, the robust performance of the US economy, and a sharp uptick in equity markets helped wealth creation globally," said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, in a press release.
Affluent people benefited from other assets rising in price as well. Gold gained 15%, bitcoin jumped 155%, residential property values in the world's top markets rose by 3.1%, and rents climbed at triple their long-term average pace, Knight Frank said.
On the other hand, the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index suffered a rare decline of less than 1%. While prices for art, jewelry, and watches rose, the value of whisky, cars, handbags, and furniture declined.
Millennials set to get richer
Knight Frank also projected a 28% surge in the total number of wealthy people over the next five years, led by India and mainland China.
Moreover, it heralded the transfer of $90 trillion of assets from older generations to millennials over the next two decades, which it expects to create "the richest generation in history."
Strikingly, women accounted for just 11% of UHNWIs worldwide, although that was up from 8% less than 10 years ago.
Wealthy boomers also seem more pessimistic about markets and the economy, with only 52% predicting their wealth will grow in the next year, compared to 7% of the Gen Z members surveyed.
Fewer than 10% of boomers expect to buy a home this year, compared to more than 20% of millennials.
The difference might reflect that more boomers already own homes; they're more concerned about taking on a mortgage when rates are near a 20-year high; or they're more worried about a stock-market crash or recession and thus reluctant to make any big outlays.