Although a handful of the world's billionaires ‒ Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Roman Abramovich, and Bill Gates ‒dominate the news headlines, their wealth cohort is outnumbered nearly 10-to-1 by a fast-growing global elite of highly influential super-wealthy movers and shakers who boast US$100 million or more in investable assets, says a global study by Henley & Partners. ‘The Centi-Millionaire Report’ says that in the late 1990s, US$30 million was considered the definition of 'super wealthy,' but asset prices have risen significantly since then, making US$100 million the new benchmark. The ranks of the centi-millionaires have swelled amid a period of relative global prosperity and market gains ‒ more than doubling in number over the past 20 years. Their capital accumulation has been dramatically accelerated by the economically and socially disruptive effects of technology and the recent COVID pandemic. The U.S. is home to 38 per cent (9,730) of them, despite constituting only four per cent of the world's total population. The big emerging markets of China and India follow in second and third place, with 2,021 and 1,132 centi-millionaires, respectively. They rank significantly higher than the main European markets, with the UK in fourth place (with 968 centi-millionaires) followed closely by Germany in fifth. Canada ranks eighth with 541 centi-millionaires. The report shows no set path to attaining centi-millionaire status, but there are generational differences. While a growing number of younger entrepreneurs who founded successful tech companies are newcomers to the club, Baby Boomers still tend to dominate despite many now cashing in their stock options and selling their businesses.
- PWC