Hong Kong CNN Business —
The number of wealthy in the world rose at a rapid pace last year, boosted by the stock market and house price rises.
As many as 5.2 million people became millionaires last year, nearly half of them in the United States alone, according to Credit Suisse’s latest annual wealth report.
“This is the largest increase in the number of millionaires recorded for any country in any year this century,” the report said.
Globally, the total number of millionaires at the end of 2021 stood at 62.5 million, Credit Suisse estimated.
The report, released Tuesday, found that total global wealth totaled $463.6 trillion at the end of last year, a jump of 9.8%.
Unsurprisingly, the two largest economies – the United States and China – posted the largest gains in household wealth, followed by Canada, India and Australia.
Each country was likely helped by a significant increase in economic output in 2021, combined with “vigorous” activity in their respective housing or stock markets, the bank said.
This has again exacerbated global inequality, which has already worsened significantly during the pandemic.
2020 saw a historic setback in the fight against poverty in the world: according to the World Bank, the number of the world’s poorest rose for the first time in more than 20 years.
While overall poverty has declined slightly since then, the institution estimates that tens of millions more people could be living in extreme poverty this year than previously thought, “due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and rising inflation.” . .”
That’s in stark contrast to the happiest in the world, even though they’re not immune to those factors.
Last year, the top 1%’s wealth share rose “for the second year in a row,” Credit Suisse said in its report. Those individuals accounted for 45.6% of world wealth in 2021.