The Credit Suisse Research Institute today released its fifth annual Global Wealth Report, which finds that from mid-2013 to mid-2014 aggregate global household wealth increased by 8.3% in current dollar terms to USD 263 trillion, despite an ongoing challenging economic environment.
Key findings of the report include:
− Global wealth stands 20% above its pre-crisis peak and 39% above its 2008 low.
− Wealth is likely to rise by nearly 40% in the next five years, reaching USD 369 trillion by 2019, according to our estimates.
− Emerging markets are to increase their share of global wealth to 21% by 2019, with China alone expected to represent nearly 10% of global wealth against just over 8% today.
− Wealth inequality has increased since 2008, especially in emerging economies like China an India.
− The USA has achieved a sizable increase in wealth since mid-2013, with a rise of USD 8.9 trillion. It will remain the undisputed leader in terms of aggregate wealth, with total net worth of more than USD 114 trillion by 2019.
− In Europe, wealth per adult has increased by more than 10% as a result of a strong recovery in asset prices.
− Switzerland ranks highest in average wealth, and has reached a new high of USD 581,000 per adult. Median wealth per adult in Australia, however, stands at USD 225,000, far outstripping Swiss median wealth of USD 107,000.
− The number of millionaires worldwide is to increase by about 53% in the next five years, reaching 53.2 million in 2019.
Giles Keating, Global Head of Research for Private Banking & Wealth Management, Credit Suisse, said: “The fifth annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report shows a USD 20.1 trillion rise in wealth to USD 263 trillion. North America and Europe stand out this year, with percentage gains exceeding 10% in both cases. Developing economies have lagged as a result of weaker asset prices and currency pressures.”
Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Markus Stierli said: “This year’s report puts wealth inequality under the lens, and the findings show that inequality has tended to rise since 2008, particularly in developing economies. The financial crisis has acted as a breakpoint in inequality, as most countries were showing a flat or declining trend before 2007.”
Credit Suisse provides the most comprehensive and reliable source of information available on global household wealth. The analysis comprises the wealth holdings of 4.7 billion adults across more than 200 countries – from billionaires in the top echelon to the middle and bottom sections of the wealth pyramid, which other studies often overlook.
For a copy of the Credit Suisse Research Institute report, “Global Wealth Report 2014,” please click here. Full information on sources and methodology is also provided in the Global Wealth Databook 2014.
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