Singapore Expected to Retain its Position as the Richest Country Even in 2050

‘Wealth Report’ always makes interesting reading because its subject matter are the rich of the world. Knight Frank which is basically a property consultancy has joined hands with Citibank to come up with this wealth report. According to them people with investable assets in excess of 425 million are considered super rich and the report has been compiled after interviewing some of them to really understand their behavior and preferences. The report tracks the rich countries as well and according to its projections Singapore will be the richest in terms of per capita income in 2050. The interesting part is that the city state is the richest according to the 2010 report and it will manage to retain its top position over four decades.

US Will Be the Only Non Asian Country in the Top Five

The incomes are calculated on per capita GDP at purchasing power parity. In simple terms it means average income after factoring in inflation, cost of living and exchange rates. According to the report Singapore is projected to have a per capita income of $137,710. The others in top five are Hong Kong at $116,639, Taiwan at $114,093, South Korea at $107,752 and bringing up the rear of the top five would be the only non Asian country USA with a per capita income of $100,802. It would be creditable for the large country to make it to the top five despite its relatively much larger population base.

The Number of Asian Millionaires Will Rise More Rapidly

The other interesting projection made by the report was about the rapid growth in the number of super rich, particularly in the Asian region. A rapid growth in GDP provides ample opportunities for large scale wealth creation. With the Asian economies growing at a faster rate the number of high net worth individuals in the region is also expected to grow rapidly. 

There are 18,000 individuals in the region covering Southeast Asia, Japan and China who have assets worth $100 million or more. There number is expected to hit 26,000 by 2016. There are more people in the region with assets worth $10 million when compared to Europe and within the decade they will outnumber those in the US as well.

Via: cnbc