In a year that’s been sluggish for the global economy, the well off are doing great. Credit Suisse estimates in its annual wealth report that global wealth increased by $21.9 trillion, and thinks it likely that personal wealth has “recently been rising at the fastest rate ever recorded.” A large amount of that is concentrated in a few regions, and with relatively few people.
Not every country shared equally in this wealth increase. Since mid-2013, the US has both gained the most wealth and has seen the biggest number of new millionaires, buoyed by its size, solid growth, and a rising stock market (until the past few days). It contains 41% of the world’s millionaires.
But in some other countries, the number of millionaires shrank—notably countries that have seen geopolitical (Russia) or economic (Argentina) instability. Here are the 10 countries which saw the biggest gain in new millionaires, and the six that lost some:
Of course, not all millionaires are created equal. The US are has plenty who narrowly pass the seven-figure mark, as well as the likes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
When you count up ultra-high net worth individuals, defined by Credit Suisse as those with more than $50 million, you get a real sense for how much wealth is concentrated in the US.
According to the report, the US added 9,500 of these individuals since mid 2013—more than China has in total—and a much larger percentage of them occupy the upper range of wealth:
