US Millionaires Deemed Richest in the World

(Gazimal)

The latest suggests that wealth in Asia is surpassing that of Europe. According to the 21st annual World Wealth Report (WWR) conducted by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co., “it was such a severe crisis, the investor psyche has really shifted,” said Ileana van der Linde, the Capgemini principal who managed the research, in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “They don’t fully trust the financial markets and regulatory bodies. That’s why we are seeing a trend toward putting money into tangible assets like art and gold.”

Asia’s high net worth individuals (HNWI), in terms of those with liquid assets of at least $1 million—leaped by 31 percent from last year to $9.7 trillion, exceeding Europe’s $9.5 trillion. This sets a precedence, whereby the volume of Asia’s wealthy population equaled that of Europe at 3 million.

“The star performer was Asia-Pacific, the only region in which both macroeconomic and market drivers of wealth expanded significantly in 2009,” the report said.

The healthy status of Asia’s wealth was boosted by a regional economy that expanded 4.5 percent in 2009 even though the global GDP fell by 2 percent. Hong Kong, India, and China spearheaded the wealth growth as property and stock markets in the region were strong last year despite plummeting in 2008.

Nevertheless, Americans still constitute the wealthiest region with 3.1 million high net worth individuals worth $10.7 trillion, the report said. Overall global wealth increased 19 percent in 2009 to $39 trillion, with North American wealth climbing to 18 percent while Europe had positive growth of 14 percent, the annual report said.

The breakdown of the six “passion investments” listed in the WWR made up around a third of a millionaire’s total holdings, Van der Linde said in the Bloomberg interview. The six “passion investments” include luxury collectibles, such as yachts, jets and high-end cars, art, jewelry, gems and watches, other collectibles such as wine and coins, sports investments, including teams and race horses, and a “miscellaneous” category comprising club memberships, musical instruments and other items.

Investing in the arts, in terms of collectable antiques, coins, and wine were popular among the Asian region. The American and Japanese millionaires also had similar preferences investing in luxury collectables. Although the affluent in the Middle East and Asia seemed to be more focused on jewelry, gems and watches.

There was noticeable change in philanthropy, due to the past global financial crisis it seems there is more discretion in selecting which charities to donate to. “It’s not just blanketing several charities and hoping for the best,” said Van der Linde. “They are now looking to wealth management firms for advice on how to make philanthropy part of their investment planning.”