China saw number of ultra-wealthy individuals rise the fastest globally in 2020, Knight Frank study finds

The elite club of people whose net worth exceeds US$30 million excluding their primary residence swelled by 16 per cent in China last year

Equities were a major driver of their wealth, as being in lockdown gave them time to better monitor the stock markets

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The world’s super-rich have weathered the Covid-19 pandemic well, the report suggests. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 7:00am, 1 Mar 2021Updated: 11:34am, 1 Mar 2021

The world’s super-rich have weathered the Covid-19 pandemic, their numbers increasing last year, particularly in China which saw the fastest gain, according to the latest Wealth Report by property consultancy Knight Frank.

The elite club of people whose net worth exceeds US$30 million excluding their primary residence swelled by 16 per cent in China in 2020. Sweden, in second place, saw the number of ultra-wealthy residents grow by 11 per cent, just ahead of Singapore on 10 per cent, said the report, now in its 13th edition.

At the other end of the scale, Greece’s ultra-wealthy population declined by a third.

“The number of UHNWI [ultra high net worth individuals] in China has grown by 137 per cent in the past five years and is expected to grow by 46 per cent in the next five years,” said Martin Wong, associate director, research and consultancy, Greater China, at Knight Frank. “By 2025, the UHNWI population in China will reach over 103,000, which would put it firmly in second place worldwide.”

The US is likely to remain the country with the highest number of wealthy individuals, with its current population of more than 180,000 forecast to grow by 24 per cent in the next five years, Wong said.

Equities, which accounted for about a quarter of the portfolios of the super-rich, were a major driver of their wealth in 2020, the study said, as being in lockdown gave them time to better monitor the stock markets.