The uber-wealthy have ballooned 54% over 10 years

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The number of millionaires worldwide—individuals with $100 million or more in investable liquid assets—has increased by 54% over the past decade, a new report shows.

the 2024 Centennial Millionaire Report The report was released on Tuesday by British wealth and investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners, using data from New World Wealth, a South Africa-based global wealth intelligence firm.

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The data shows a growing group of ultra-wealthy people — although many of them are concentrated in specific countries and cities.

The US and China appear to be experiencing a boom in the number of $100 millionaires, with their numbers rising by 81% and 108% respectively, while the number of $100 millionaires in Europe has fallen by just 21% over the past 10 years.

By comparison, the number of millionaires in Canada expanded by 42 percent to 495 people.

The growth in the number of millionaires is a more comprehensive measure of wealth around the world than the growth in the number of billionaires, said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, noting that billionaires are more common in larger markets such as the United States.

“$100 million in liquid wealth is the amount that is typically considered enough to make someone very wealthy, and it is also the general upper limit for people starting their own family offices,” Amoils added.

About a third of the world’s 100 millionaires live in 50 cities around the world, with major U.S. cities accounting for 15 of the list, with New York City (744 millionaires), the Bay Area (675 millionaires), and Los Angeles (496 millionaires) rounding out the top three.

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Two major Canadian cities also made their way onto the list, with Toronto home to 195 millionaires and Vancouver 80, but that number is expected to grow even more in the next 16 years.

“Vancouver has been catching up for a while, so we expect that to continue, because there are a lot of wealthy people moving to Vancouver,” Amoils said.

Calgary and Montreal were identified as the top wealth centres to watch, with Amoils highlighting that New World Wealth expects Calgary’s technology and basic materials sectors to grow.

He pointed out that measuring the growth of the wealthy can be a good indicator of business formation and the most attractive places for business growth, as well as opportunities for others to generate wealth themselves.

“Companies started by millionaires have a huge positive impact on the middle class because they create a large number of well-paying jobs in their home country,” Amoils said in a press release. “It is also worth noting that most of the companies listed on the Fortune 500, S&P 500, CAC 40, FTSE 100 and Nikkei 225 were founded by individuals who later became millionaires.”

More than 60% of the world’s millionaires are entrepreneurs and business founders, Amoils said, adding that financial services and high-tech are the key sectors for millionaire wealth growth.

Financial services is a prominent sector in Canada, with more than 20% of the country’s millionaires belonging to this field.

• Email: sluis@postmedia.com

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