The world's millionaire list hits a milestone

Posted Jun 25th 2008 4:15PM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Good news, Consumer Experience, India, China, Brazil, Market Matters, Rich in America, Economic Data

For the first time ever, the number of millionaires in the world broke through the 10 million mark last year. All said and done, the total number of people who can claim to have $1 million in the bank grew to around 10.1 million people, and on average, these lucky few boast around $4 million in net worth.

While the number of people in the "millionaires club" is definitely impressive, they still do not have to worry about the clout of their $1 million claims being diluted just yet. Ten million people may sound like a lot, but when you consider the world's total population is currently running at around 6.7 billion, you find that the percentage of all people on the planet who can claim to have $1 million is less than 0.2%. So don't feel too bad if you are not part of the club just yet.

As in the past, the majority of millionaires have an American address, with one out of every three millionaires being American. But there are a few other areas of the world where growth is out-pacing the United States. Developing economies in India, China and Brazil resulted in huge growth in those countries, especially in India, where the number of millionaires rose by about 23% last year alone.

While last year's 6% growth in the number of millionaires is impressive, it is a slower rate of growth than we have seen recently. The previous year we had an 8% jump in the number of millionaires, and part of the reason why the numbers are lower is that in times of economic uncertainty, the rich are typically less risk tolerant, and tend to shift into more safe investments to preserve their nest eggs.

So just where are the rich putting their money these days, that is what you really want to know, isn't it? According to the report, 44% of their assets are sitting in cash deposits and fixed income. That is up from 35% during 2006. The old saying is true... money makes money, so having large amounts of money in fixed income is definitely a great way to earn more than most of us make in our yearly salaries.

Well, f you are not in the million dollar club just yet don't worry, keep doing your homework, looking for good, safe ways to save and earn money and who knows... maybe sometime in the not too distant future you too will be able to enjoy knowing you are part of what is still one of the most exclusive clubs in town!

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

Tags: fixed income, FixedIncome, millionaires, money, rich, savings

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-25-2008 @ 8:51PM

winslow said...

An individual having millions does the world no good unless everyone is able to benefit. Unless these individuals use their money to help others, they are really "poor" human beings.