B’naires might have lost out this year (not that they’re likely to miss it), but the number of m’naires is on the rise. The number of people around the world with at least USD 1 mn in assets will grow to surpass 87 mn by 2026, up 40% from the m’naire population in 2021, according to Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report 2022.

UHNWIs: The number of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals — those with wealth above USD 50 mn — grew in 2021, adding 21% new members during the year. The global population of UHNWIs is expected to rise by 45% to reach 385k by 2026. The UHNW group as a whole is led by North America with 146,680 members (56%), followed by 42,780 (16%) living in Europe, 32,710 (12%) in China and 30,010 (11%) in Asia-Pacific countries (excluding China and India).

World wealth is growing fast: Aggregate global wealth grew 9.8% y-o-y to total USD 463.6 tn last year. Accounting for FX rate changes, the pace of growth was 12.7% — the fastest annual rate ever recorded. North America and China together accounted for 75% of that growth, while Africa, Europe, India and Latin America together accounted for just 11.1% of the rise in global wealth.

And it’s not about to stop: While the Russia-Ukraine war and global inflation will likely hinder wealth creation in the short term, global household wealth in nominal USDs is likely to increase by another USD 169 tn — up 36% — by 2026.

China is expected to double its m’naire population to number 12.2 mn in the next five years, despite current lagging growth amid ongoing pandemic lockdowns. “We expect household wealth in China to continue to catch up with the United States, advancing the equivalent of 14 US years between 2021 and 2026.” the report says.

Africa’s m’naire population pales in comparison but is also on the rise: Credit Suisse expects the number of African m’naires to nearly triple, reaching 961k by 2026. (Remember: Egypt is home to some of the highest net-worth individuals in Africa, hosting seven of the continent’s 21 b’naires). The report doesn’t, however, get into the specifics of any countries in Africa beyond Nigeria and South Africa, noting that there is a lack of “reliable data” from which it can draw comparisons and conclusions. These two countries were selected as points of comparison to the continent as a whole, considering they are sub-Saharan Africa’s two biggest economies, the report says.

It should come as no surprise that Saudi Arabia has the largest economy and the greatest household wealth in MENA, while the UAE is the second wealthiest Gulf state. According to the report’s estimates — which were drawn from the relationship between household wealth and factors like household consumption, stock share prices, and home prices, observed in other nations — Saudi Arabia’s total household wealth at the end of 2021 was USD 2.1 tn, compared to USD 1 tn in the UAE. But due to Saudi Arabia's larger population, the United Arab Emirates' wealth per adult at the end of 2021 (USD 122,841) stood 46% higher than that in Saudi Arabia (USD 84,407). Meanwhile, median wealth per adult was USD 19,323 in Saudi Arabia and USD 23,055 per adult in the UAE in 2021.