The new rich, as is known, come from emerging countries. In particular, from Asia. But the novelty is that these rich people are not only new, but also increasingly wealthy, to the point of surpassing the "old" rich of the West and above all of North America in terms of capital.
This is what emerges from the World Wealth report published by RBC Wealth Management and Capgemini SA (precisely presented in Hong Kong and Singapore): in the Asia-Pacific area, the number of people with assets of at least 1 million dollars rose in 2011 from just over 3 million to 5 million (1,9 % of the working population), and their combined wealth increased by 1,5%.
And while Europe is drowning in the debt crisis, the untouchable North Americans are being overtaken from the East: for the first time, last year, finding a millionaire was more likely from India onwards than between the United States and Canada. But not to find an ultra-millionaire: the so-called UHNW (ultra high net worth individuals), i.e. natural persons with investable assets of at least 30 million dollars, have fallen in Asia-Pacific by 3,9% in one year, coming to 21.700, and their combined wealth decreased by 5,2%.
“Asia-Pacific will likely continue to face challenges such as high inflation and global factors such as the weak economy in Europe” – explains Jean Lassignardie, Corporate Vice President of Capgemini, through the statement presenting the report -, however, the the different nature of the area's economy, exports and prospects for the region lead us to believe that it is still strong as a whole”.
This is despite a slowdown in growth. “Economic growth in developing East Asia and the Pacific will slow to 7,6% this year from 8,3% in 2011, according to World Bank forecasts in June. While the United States will expand by 2,1% and the euro area will contract by 0,3%”.
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