Millions and Millions of Millionaires
How many millionaires are there in this world? A million? Two million?
A good guess will be 7.7 million. According to the 2004 World Wealth Report published today by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, 600,000 joined the rank in the past year alone. The total net worth of these individuals? A whopping $30.8 trillion.
The complete 32-page report, which is available to the general public in PDF format, is actually a very good explanation of how the world's macro economic situations influence the creation of wealth. The conclusion:
• North America: North America: Low interest rates and tax reform drive growth.
• Asia-Pacific: Growth in China and India led the region.
• Europe: With structural economic problems and corresponding low growth, wealth creation lags.
• Latin America: Wealth advances, led by Brazil, whose economic policies are a huge success.
• Middle East and Africa: Oil and commodities are the story.
We can also get some hints from how these millionaires operates their assets. Overall, the report thinks:
"2004 became a “hold-and-see” year for HNWIs. ... HNWIs’ allocation strategies grew more conservative and more diversified. ... mov[ing] allocations somewhat away from more risky asset classes and into more stable fixed income and cash deposits.While the rise of interest rates might theoretically lead investors to postpone investments in bond markets,HNWIs kept to a more conservative tack, eschewing short-term profits in favor of safer returns."
For adament savers, it is actually not that difficult to join the club -- all it takes is time and patience. How many of us will join the rank in our lifetime?
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Even though the internet (PFBlog included) is providing a wealth of information on any personal finance topics, personal finance magazines still has irreplacable value as it provides more organized information with more credibility. Read
Once every year, Forbes does the legwork for you to compile the authoritative list of richest people in this world. In the newly published 2005 list, 691 billionaires share a total wealth of $2.2 trillion. Read
For the sake of comparison, I read an article the other day that talked about India having 69,800 millionaires.
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http://www.fivecentnickel.com/
Regarding India, that number would be rupee millionnaires, not millionaires in US dollars. One US dollar is roughly about 43 Indian Rupees.
Amit,
It would be wrong to base a dollar at INR43 and make a comparison between a dollar millinnaire and a Rupee millionnaire. The more accurate conversion on a PPP basis would be $1=INR 10. So an Indian millinnaire could be defined as the one whose net worth excluding the value of primary residence is INR 100 million (1 crore)
