Global wealth to rise 40pc by 2018
HOUSEHOLD wealth across the world is predicted to grow by as much as 40 per cent over the next five years, hitting $334 trillion (£209 trillion) by 2018 according to research out yesterday.
According to the Credit Suisse Research Institute, global household wealth has risen by 4.9 per cent in the last year, jumping to $241 trillion despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
And that figure is expected to continue growing, as emerging markets increase their share of global wealth and the number of millionaires swells.
The annual Global Wealth Report for 2013 showed that the US is back on top in terms of total net wealth for the first time in eight years, adding $8.4 trillion and boasting the highest number of millionaires with 13.2m people worth seven figures.
It also has the highest number of so-called ultra high net worth individuals – those worth over $50m – with 45,650, or 46.3 per cent of the global total.
Australia took the crown for highest median wealth – the midpoint between richest and poorest – at $219,505 per person, but stayed behind Switzerland in the mean wealth tables. The average Swiss citizen’s wealth was $512,562, tipping over the $500,000 mark for the first time since 2011.
Growth across Asia Pacific remained steady, but was dragged down by Japan, where total household wealth fell by 20.5 per cent.