KUALA LUMPUR: Asia will have roughly 210,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (or UHNWIs) by 2027, up by 39.8 per cent from 2022, according to the latest annual Wealth Report by Knight Frank.
UHNWIs are individuals with net worths of at least US$30 million.
The number in Mainland China will increase by over 50 per cent to around 132,000 in 2027 from about 88,000 in 2022.
However, Japan's ultra-wealthy population is expected to shrink by 1.8 per cent in the five years leading up to 2027, making it the only member among the Group of Seven industrialised countries to experience a dip during that time, the report showed.
The number of such super-rich people in Japan, the world's third-largest economy, is estimated to be 21,859 in 2027, down from 22,259 in 2022.
A Knight Frank official attributed Japan's shrinking population as one of the main factors in the expected decline.
Japan's population is projected to drop from 125 million in 2022 to 122 million in 2027, representing a 2.3 percent decrease, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
Despite the drop in wealth, Japan will continue to rank second in Asia for the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (or UHNWIs) after mainland China.
Globally, the number of UHNWIs declined by 3.8 per cent in 2022 from the previous year. Many of these individuals saw their wealth decline as a result of a number of "shocks" to the world economy, including the conflict in Ukraine involving Russia and the sharp increase in inflation that resulted in interest rate hikes.
However, the Knight Frank report suggests that the global UHNWI population is expected to increase by 28.5 per cent to around 745,000 in 2027, as it believes a peak in interest rates is approaching while expressing optimism about global real estate markets.
The number of these extremely wealthy people will continue to be highest in the United States, which is anticipated to increase by 24.6 per cent to around 253,000 in 2027.
According to the survey, the majority of other G-7 nations, including Canada, Britain, and Germany, anticipate a double-digit percentage increase in the number of ultra-wealthy people in the five years leading up to 2027.