Currently, wealth is at an all-time high for the wealthy.
In 2022, the wealthy folks suffered immense financial losses, but they've bounced back in the past year. A recent study reveals a surge in the number of millionaires across the globe, and their total wealth has hit a new peak. The reason behind this rise is quite apparent.
As per the findings, the world has never witnessed a higher number of millionaires, and their collective wealth has reached an all-time high. The number of individuals with a fortune exceeding one million dollars (excluding their primary residence's value) surged by 5.1% last year to 22.8 million. Simultaneously, their total wealth spiked by 4.7% to $86.8 billion.
This analysis is conducted by the French consulting firm Capgemini, who've been crunching the numbers since 1997 in 71 countries. Both the figures are record-breaking - following a year where the world's richest saw their wealth drastically drop, their first significant decline in over a decade.
The wealth growth in 2023 can be primarily attributed to a booming stock market. The US tech index skyrocketed by 43%, the S&P500 recorded a hefty gain of 24%, the DAX soared by 20%, and the CAC40, France's primary stock index, experienced an 16% boost.
The report attributes this growth to the inflated enthusiasm about generative AI and its potential impact on the economy. The rise in millionaires and billionaires was most significant in North America, where their ranks grew by 7.1%. Contrastingly, Germany's wealth growth is relatively low, increasing by 2.2% to $6.28 billion. The number of dollar millionaires also increased by 2.1% to 1.646 million. Germany thus stands at the third spot, after the US and Japan, in terms of millionaire count.
The extreme concentration of wealth and the ensuing inequality has sparked heated debates about fair taxation in recent times. Brazil and France have suggested a global minimum tax on the world's largest fortunes, proposal raised within the G20 group of nations.
