Singapore has the highest number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) in Southeast Asia, data from Knight Frank Wealth Report of 2024 reveals. Hong Kong SAR, the other major city-state in the neighbourhood, has 5,957 UNHWIs.
While Singapore occupies the 17th place overall among countries and territories in the world with the highest number of ultra-wealthy individuals, Hong Kong SAR is placed one rank above at 16th.
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam are the other Southeast Asian countries in the top 30.
The list is topped by the United States, the country with the highest number of billionaires, with 225,077 UHNWI, followed by China with 98,551 and Germany with 29,021.
What is the meaning of ultra-high-net-worth individuals?
The Knight Frank Wealth Report 2024, published by global real estate consultant Knight Frank, takes a look at the change in private client investments, the net worth of the ultra-rich, and the movements in luxury prices across top residential markets in the world among other metrics.
According to Knight Frank, “someone with a net worth of USD 30 million or more” is an ultra-high-net-worth individual. Using the data and based on this cut-off, Seasia Stats, a statistics page, compiled a list of top 30 countries by number of UHNWIs.
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The report revealed there were 4,783 UHNWIs in Singapore in 2023. Indonesia came 24th with 1,479, Thailand was at 26th with 889, Malaysia at 29th with 754, and Vietnam occupied the last place in the top 30 with 752.
Change from 2022 to 2023 and expected UNHWIs in 2028
The Knight Frank Wealth Report 2024 shows the change in the number of UNHWIs from 2022 to 2023. It also shows a projected growth over the next five years. The projections give a glimpse into the current GDP growth rates of the respective countries. Singapore had 4601 UHNWIs in 2022. Thus, its 2023 number marks a 4 percent increase. It is projected to have 5535 UHNWIs in 2028, a 15.7 percent increase from 2023.
Similarly, Indonesia saw an increase of 4.2 percent to its UHNWIs in 2023 from the 1420 it had in 2022. It is expected to add 34.1 percent more by 2028 to reach 1984 UHNWIs. Thailand saw a growth of only 0.8 percent from its 882 UHNWIs in 2022. The country is expected to have 1020 ultra-wealthy five years from now, a rise of 14.7 percent.
Both Malaysia and Vietnam are expected to see tremendous growth in the numbers of its UHNWIs. While Malaysia could have 1,015, adding 34.6 percent more UNHWIs than it has now, Vietnam is expected to boast of 978 UNHWIs — a rise of 30 percent from the current.
On the other hand, Hong Kong SAR saw a rise of 2.5 percent in 2023 to its figure of 5,812 UNHWIs of 2022. It is expected to be home to 7,290 ultra-wealthy by 2028, a rise of 22.4 per cent.
Read the complete report here.
(Main image: Daniam Chou/@daniamchou/Unsplash; Featured image: Coleen Rivas/@coleenr/Unsplash)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– How many ultra-high-net-worth people are there in Singapore?
There are 4,783 ultra-high-net-worth people in Singapore as of 2023.
– Does Singapore attract high net worth individuals?
Yes, it does.
This article originally appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore.
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
