Pandemic spurred record numbers of ‘ultra wealthy’ in 2021
More than 51,000 people joined the ranks of the “ultra-wealthy” last year as the fortunes of the already very rich benefited from rising global stock markets and increased property prices during the pandemic.
The number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with assets of more than $30m (£22.4m) – rose by a record 9.3% last year to 610,569, according to a report by the property consultants Knight Frank.
“By any of the measures that we track, whether luxury property prices, UHNWI populations or even private jet traffic, 2021 was a good year for those lucky enough to be the owners of property or other tangible assets,” said Rory Penn, the head of Knight Frank’s private office, through which he advises ultra-rich clients across the world.
“Notwithstanding uncertain times, we have still seen substantial wealth creation globally with the number of people with net wealth of US$30m or more increasing by almost 10% last year.”
The number of ultra rich people in the UK increased by 11% to 25,771 – more people than could fit in the football stadiums of Watford, Burnley or Brentford.
The number of Britons with assets of more than $30m has doubled since 2016, and Knight Frank predicts the total will rise to more than 32,000 by 2026. There are more than 3 million people in the UK classed as dollar ¡millionaires (£750,000), a 54% increase on five years ago.
The UK had the second-fastest rate of growth of ultra-rich people behind the US, where the number increased by 13% to 210,353. The ranks of the wealthy grew on every continent except Africa, where 17 people fell off the list, taking the total to 2,240.
Monaco stood out as the country with the most super-rich people per capita, with 199 people holding assets of $30m or more
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