India's Ultra-rich Up by 11% in 2021 Even as Pandemic Raged, Country 3rd in Billionaire Population

The number of ultra-high-net worth-individuals, having net assets of about Rs 226 crore or more in India increased 11 per cent in 2021 last year on the back of buoyant equity markets and digital revolution, according to Knight Frank.

India also ranked third in billionaire population globally in 2021.

US is number one with 748 billionaires, followed by Chinese mainland at 554 billionaires and India with 145 billionaires, as per property consultant Knight Frank’s latest report.

The latest edition of The Wealth Report 2022 said the number of ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNWIs) globally increased by 9.3 per cent in 2021 to 6,10,569, from 5,58,828 in the previous year.

“In India, the number of UHNWIs (net assets with USD 30 million or more) has grown by 11 per cent YoY (year-on-year) in 2021, the highest percentage growth in APAC,” Knight Frank said in a statement.

The number of UHNWIs in India grew to 13,637 in 2021 from 12,287 in the previous year. Amongst key Indian cities, Bengaluru witnessed the highest growth in the number of UHNWIs at 17.1 per cent to 352, followed by Delhi (12.4 per cent, 210) and Mumbai (9 per cent, 1,596).

As per the report, around 69 per cent of the super wealthy individuals in India are expected to witness an increase of over 10 per cent in their net worth in 2022.

“Asia continues to be the forerunner in the billionaires’ club contributing to 36 per cent of the total billionaires in the world in 2021. India has ranked 3rd in terms of billionaires’ population in 2021 following US and China,” the statement said.

Over the next five years, Knight Frank forecasts that the global UHNWIs population will grow by a further 28 per cent, with Asia and Australasia at 33 per cent each seeing the largest growth, followed by North America (28 per cent) and Latin America (26 per cent).

“The number of UHNWI population in India is expected to grow by 39 per cent between 2021- 2026, with 19,006 people expecting to have net assets of USD 30 million or more by 2026,” the consultant said.

In the last 5 years for the major markets, Delhi has witnessed an increase of 101.2 per cent, followed by Mumbai (42.6 per cent) and Bengaluru (22.7 per cent). However, in the next 5 years, Bengaluru is projected to witness an increase of 89 per cent in the UHNWI population and become home to 665 ultra-wealthy individuals by 2026.

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