Billionaires’ wealth rises nearly a fifth
THE super-rich are getting wealthier. The assets of the world’s billionaires swelled by almost a fifth in 2016, reversing the previous year’s fall.
The world’s 1542 billionaires got by on $6 trillion (£4.5 trillion), up 17% on 2015 numbers.
The bounce back was driven by rising numbers of Asian billionaires, who outnumbered the amount in the US for the first time, according to the UBS/PwC billionaires report 2017.
There were 637 billionaires in Asia, pushing past 563 in the US, after the number rose by nearly a quarter.
Rising levels of entrepreneurship in China are driving the change.
Asian billionaires, such as Jack Ma, had $2 trillion last year and will soon have more money than US billionaires, who are still ahead with $2.8 trillion.
“We have seen not only a return to growth for billionaire wealth, but also a significant shift in its geographic dimensions. Dramatic growth in Asian wealth shows it could overtake the US in just four years,” UBS global head of ultra-high net worth Josef Stadler said.
The report also said billionaires are responsible for businesses that employ a workforce equal to that of the UK — about 27.7 million people.
UBS and PwC said the ultra-wealthy elite were more interested in spending money on their “legacies” — buying sports clubs and bequeathing money to the arts and museums. @bymichaelbow