Indian wealth falls 0.8% to $3 trillion in 2016: Credit Suisse
The ‘Global Wealth Report’ compiled by Credit Suisse Research Institute noted that while wealth has been rising in India, not everyone has shared in this growth
As per the ‘Global Wealth Report’, India has 2,48,000 adults in the top 1% of global wealth holders, a 0.5% share. Photo: Bloomberg
Mumbai: Hit by adverse currency movements, India’s household wealth has fallen by $26 billion to $3 trillion in the current year, shows the latest report by global financial services major Credit Suisse.
According to the ‘Global Wealth Report’ compiled by Credit Suisse Research Institute, wealth in the country in dollar terms went down by 0.8% ($26 billion) to $3.099 trillion in 2016 compared to last year. The report noted that while wealth has been rising in India, not everyone has shared in this growth.
“There is still considerable wealth poverty, reflected in the fact that 96% of the adult population has wealth below $10,000,” the report said. “At the other extreme, a small fraction of the population (0.3% of adults) has a net worth over $1,00,000,” it added, noting that due to India’s large population, this translates into 2.4 million people.
As per the report, the country has 2,48,000 adults in the top 1% of global wealth holders, a 0.5% share. “By our estimates, 2,260 adults have wealth over $50 million, and 1,040 have more than $100 million,” it added. Overall, the Asia Pacific region in 2016 saw wealth increase by 4.5% to nearly $80 trillion. “China and India were hit by adverse currency movements and as a result, their household wealth fell by 2.8% and 0.8% to $23 trillion and $3 trillion, respectively,” the report noted.
Among other major economies in the region, wealth in Australia remained largely unchanged (decline of 0.2%) and South Korea saw an increase of 1%. Globally, the wealth stood at $256 trillion— a rise of 1.4% from a year ago. The report noted that rise in global wealth is in line with the increase in the world’s adult population with average wealth per adult remaining constant at $52,800.
According to Credit Suisse, while developing economies are likely to outpace the developed world in terms of wealth growth, they will still only account for just under a third of growth over the next five years. “They (developing nations) currently account for around 18% of global household wealth, against just 12% in 2000,” it added.
