With the world economy struggling to get out of a recession it is the emerging markets that have taken the lead in creating wealth. They are also called the BRICs which stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China. In terms of the rate of growth the sequence is exactly reverse with China leading the pack but then Bric sounds more solid. Wealth X which is a wealth research and consulting firm has done a study specifically focused on BRIC countries. According to the study, there are 25,600 super rich people in these countries with a net worth of $30 million or more.
To assess the net worth of the individuals, the firm has taken the value of shares in publicly traded and closely held companies, residential and investment real estate, art, planes, cash and other investible assets. These people have been classified as ultra high net worth individuals. As on date the US has double the number of ultra high net worth individuals than the combined figure of BRIC countries. According to the study done by Wealth X the BRIC ultra rich have a combined net worth of $4.125 trillion, compared to $6.4 trillion for the U.S.
This scenario will change rapidly as more wealth is being generated in the BRIC countries and the number of the ultra high net worth individuals in these countries will grow much faster as compared to the US or Europe where the economies are finding it rather difficult to register any growth. Another trend that came out of the Wealth X study is the concentration of wealth at the top of the pyramid. It was most pronounced in Russia where 80 billionaires who represent 7% of the total population ultra high net worth individuals in that country but account for 84% of the group’s $640 billion in wealth.
Via: blogs.wsj
