The world’s ultra-rich population is SHRIMPING for the first time since 2018 as thousands of Americans lose their super-rich status
The world’s ultra-rich population has shrunk for the first time since 2018, when America lost nearly 7,000 of its wealthiest citizens.
Ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals are defined as anyone with more than $30 million to their name.
The landmark World Ultra Wealth Report from Altrata and Wealth-X found that the global UHNW population will shrink by 5.4 percent to 395,070 people by 2022 – the steepest decline since 2015.
It marked a reversal in the situation from 2021, when the number of super-rich citizens increased by 3.5 percent.
This trend has been driven by Asia and Europe, with the US still accounting for the lion’s share of ultra-wealthy residents.
World’s ultra-rich population has shrunk for the first time since 2018 as America lost nearly 7,000 of its wealthiest citizens
The wealthiest Americans are collectively worth $15.1 trillion. It was followed by China and Germany, whose wealthiest residents share $5.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion, respectively.
About five of the top ten cities with the highest UHNW populations were in America.
New York was second only to Hong Kong, with 11,845 residents who owned more than $30 million.
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago placed fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Washington DC was tenth on the list.
The report noted that America had outperformed most countries and had lost less wealth than the global average – something that “consolidated its status as by far the largest wealth market in the world.”
Researchers noted that they had remained “cautiously optimistic” about the global welfare market.
After a period of robust global wealth creation in 2019-2021, preserving wealth in 2022 became the primary focus for many UHNW individuals.
The Fed rate shot up in July to a 22-year high of 5.5 percent
Goldman Sachs this week lowered its forecasts that the US would enter a recession from 20 to 15 percent.
“The global economy has shown a degree of resilience in the first half of 2023, with Europe avoiding a predicted deep recession and US and Chinese consumer activity stronger than expected. This ‘cautious optimism’ remains.’
As a result, the world’s population is estimated to increase to 528,100 by 2027, up 133,000 from today.
The US has been plagued by economic turbulence since the end of the pandemic. Shares in the S&P 500 index ended 2022 18 percent lower than at the beginning of the year.
However, the market has managed to recover, with the S&P 500 rising 16.71 percent in the first half of the year.
And the US has been more successful in curbing rampant global inflation than the rest of the world.
The Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes — which have sent rates to their highest level in 22 years — have managed to bring annual inflation back to 3.2 percent, down from a summer high of 9 percent from 2022.
It meant that economists at Goldman Sachs this week cut their forecasts that the US would go into recession from 20 to 15 percent.