Staff members counting RMB cash deposited by customers in China’s Nantong city.
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The world’s super rich club expanded significantly over the past 10 years, with China leading the charge, according to the latest report from New World Wealth and investment migration advisor Henley & Partners.
The number of centimillionaires surged 54% worldwide over the past decade to 29,350, particularly in China and the U.S., according to the report. Centimillionaires are ultra-high-net-worth individuals with investable wealth of $100 million or more.
“America and China have experienced what can only be described as a centi-millionaire boom, significantly outperforming their European counterparts,” said Juerg Steffen, chief executive officer of Henley & Partners.
“China’s ascent has been the most dramatic, with its centi-millionaire population expanding by 108% over the past 10 years — outpacing even the stellar performance of the U.S., whose super-wealthy ranks swelled by 81% over the same period,” the report observed.
China’s growth was driven in large part by the emergence of tech centimillionaires and industrial titans, Steffen said. There are currently 2,350 centimillionaires living in China.
But the country’s economy has stalled in recent years, dragged down by an embattled property sector, sticky unemployment and weak domestic consumption. Most of China’s centimillionaire boom happened between 2013 to 2020, Andrew Amoils, wealth analyst at New World Wealth, told CNBC. Since 2020, the number of ultra-rich has only risen about 10%, he added.
Existing centi-millionaire growth and migration trends will depend largely on the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
David Young
The Conference Board
However, Henley & Partners maintained that cities like Hangzhou and Shenzhen still demonstrate potential as emerging tech hubs and were listed among cities “poised for exceptional growth of over 150%” in their centimillionaire populations by 2040.
Economic expansion in these two cities has outpaced that of the country’s 5% growth. Hangzhou’s GDP grew 6.9% year-on-year for the first half of 2024. Similarly, Shenzhen grew 5.9% year-on-year across the same period, lifted by its industrial sector.
Between now and 2040, Amoils still expects robust centimillionaire population growth in China of between 80% to 100%.
Both the U.S. and China are expected to outperform the global average centimillionaire-growth rate of around 75% by 2040.
The report also noted that a number of Asian and Middle Eastern cities are positioned for 150% growth in their ultra rich populations, including Taipei, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and India’s Bengaluru.
Conversely, more established hubs like Zurich, Chicago, Moscow and Madrid are expected to see sluggish super wealth growth of less than 50% in the years through 2040.
A staggering Europe
Additionally, Steffen attributed Europe’s sluggish performance to the slow expansion of key markets like Germany, France and the U.K. That said, while larger European markets lag, smaller ones such as Monaco, Malta, Montenegro and Poland have experienced significant growth in their centimillionaire populations, increasing by 75% or more.
The U.S. remains a top wealth hub, with cities like New York, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area expected to see further growth of over 50% in their ultra-wealthy populations.
However, America’s continued dominance could depend on who wins the upcoming elections.
“Existing centi-millionaire growth and migration trends will depend largely on the upcoming U.S. presidential elections where we anticipate drastic differences in fiscal, monetary, economic, and social policies,” said David Young, president of the Committee for Economic Development at think tank The Conference Board.
There has been a surge in affluent Americans considering alternative residence and citizenship options, Henley and Partners’ research showed.