Asia is crazy rich, all right.
The box office blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians” showcases the super-rich Singaporean elite — but in reality, the Asia-Pacific region is creating more residents worth $30 million or more at a faster pace than any other place on the planet, according to research firm Wealth-X. Its 2018 Ultra Wealthy Analysis finds that Asia’s ultra-rich population jumped 18.5 percent in 2017 and their combined wealth adds up to $8.365 trillion.
And Hong Kong bumped New York City as the city with the most residents worth $30 million or more, with its super-rich elites jumping 31 percent to about 10,000 people last year, compared to the Big Apple’s 9,000 ultra-high-net-worth population. The report notes that Hong Kong benefitted from its trade and investment links with mainland China; the latter was listed as the third overall richest nation in the world and home to 26 of the 30 fastest-growing cities for the ultra-rich.
On the city list, Tokyo came in third with just under 7,000 wealthy residents with at least $30 million, followed by Los Angeles and Paris. The City of Light beat London because the UK capital was “hampered in part by Brexit-related uncertainty in UK financial markets and across the wider economy,” the authors wrote.
The US still remains the nation with the most wealthy residents sitting atop $30 million or more, making up 35 percent of the world’s super-rich with a combined $10,998 billion in wealth, and Europe is the second wealthiest region. But the report suggests that the Asia-Pacific’s wealthy elite will close the gap with Europe by increasing at a rate of 8.3 percent over the next five years, with overall wealth growing at 8.6 percent year over year. And the report said that’s thanks to super wealthy entrepreneurs investing in financial, manufacturing and tech industries in the region.
“The dynamism of wealth creation across China’s vast landscape is nevertheless staggering,” the report authors wrote.
The rich are getting richer worldwide thanks to an upturn in the global economy, rising asset markets and strong corporate earnings, the report notes, with the combined net worth of the world’s ultra high net worth population increasing by 16.3 percent to $31.5 billion in 2017.
“Having experienced a roller-coaster ride the previous year, economic and financial markets almost without exception surprised on the upside in 2017,” the report authors wrote. “On an annual basis, world real GDP expanded at its fastest pace since 2011.”
And the number of ultra wealthy women hit a record-high share of 13.7 percent, with 35,000 joining the $30 million-plus club.