Econintersect: The world’s millionaires have exceeded the pre-crisis wealth of $40.7 trillion. In 2010 the number increased to $42.7 trillion. The latest data is contained in the 2011 annual World Wealth Report, compiled by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. After declining sharply in 2008 (-20%), 2009 saw the wealthy gain 18.9% and 2010 produced 9.7% average gain.High net worth individuals were defined in the study as those with $1 million or more investable assets. North America still tops the list with the most high net worth individuals (3.4 million), followed closely by Asia-Pacific (3.3 million) and Europe (3.1 million). Asia-Pacific passed Europe to gain second place in 2009.
The demographics show a decided age advantage for the young in Asia-Pacific compared to the U.S. From Financial Planning:
Individuals age 45 and under comprised 17% of the high net worth individual population in 2010, up from 13% in 2008. Asia-Pacific, which has seen its population of entrepreneurs surge, had 41% of its millionaire population represented by those ages 45 and under. North America, by contrast, had just 10% of high net worth individuals in that category, while 68% of its high net worth population was over 55-years-old.
The U.S. wealthy total aggregate net worth is $11.2 trillion. Asia-Pacific has $10.8 trillion and Europe $10.2. The assets have been increasingly moving into equities. At the end of 2010, 33% of high net worth individuals globally had all assets in stocks. The U.S. number was even higher: 42% of the wealthy were all in for stocks.
Source: Financial Planning
