The global population of ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNWIs) is predicted to grow by almost 30% in the next five years despite a contraction in 2022. In Monaco, the number of UHNWIs is expected to climb 25% by 2027.
The latest Knight Frank Wealth Report series, released at the start of June, has revealed that the number of UHNWIs around the world fell by 3.8% during 2022, and their fortunes slipped too.
“The total wealth held by UHNWIs in 2022 fell by 10% due in large part to two-fifths of portfolios being held in equities and bonds, which saw the traditional portfolio of 60/40 put in the worst performance since the 1930s in the US,” says Flora Harley, a partner and research at Knight Frank. “On the flip side, property was a bright spot with prices in 100 prime residential markets globally growing on average by 5.2% in 2022 and luxury investment assets saw an inflation busting 16% growth.”
But the contraction wasn’t felt equally across the globe.
Europe’s ultra wealthy fall in number
The number of European UHNWIs fell by 8.5% to just over 155,000 people.
“Some four-fifths of the region’s countries experienced a decline in their UHNWI population,” explains Harley. “A handful of markets saw their UHNWI population increase, including Ireland, with a 3.9% rise, and the wealthy’s safe haven of Monaco with 0.9% growth.”
It was a similar story in Asia, which saw a 6.5% decrease in its UHNWI population. The Americas and Australasian UHNWIs remain relatively stable, while numbers in Africa and the Middle East surged by 6.3% and 16.9% respectively.
The number of billionaires worldwide also declined in 2022, by 5% to 2,629. High-net-worth-individuals, however, rose in number – up 2.9% – to almost 70 million. Only in Europe did the population of HNWIs – those with US$1 million (just below €1 million) of personal wealth – “dwindle”.
“Over the next five years we forecast that the global UHNWI population will expand by 28.5% to almost three-quarters of a million from 579,625 in 2022,” continues Harley. “The number of HNWIs will also surpass 100 million over the next five years, growing by 56.9%.”
The 10-year global growth predictions for these wealth bands, from 2017 to 2027, are: 124% for HNWIs, 85% for UHNWIs, and 62% for billionaires.
The Top 1% Club
The level of wealth required reach the “Top 1%” varies significantly from country to country, and is well short of the wealth required to achieve UHNWI classification – someone worth at least US$30 million (or close to €28 million).
“Even in Monaco, which has the world’s densest population of super-rich individuals, the entry point for the Principality’s 1% is US$12.4 million,” says Harley. “The level is still almost double that of second place Switzerland at US$6.6 million.”
In France and the UK, that figure is US$3.5 million and US$3.3 million respectively.
A closer look at Monaco
According to the Knight Frank report, there were 14,936 HWNIs in the Principality in 2022, which was up 5.8% from 2021 data. This population is expected to expand by 51% over the next five years.
The number of UHNWIs living in Monaco in 2022 was 112, up by just one on 2021. This proportion of the population is anticipated to grow by 25% by 2027 to reach 140 individuals worth more than US$30 million.
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