New York: India is projected to be home to the fourth highest number of billionaires in the world by 2023, according to a report, which said wealth creation will accelerate in the country over the next decade.
The 2014 Wealth Report, an annual global perspective on prime property and wealth by property management firm Knight Frank, projected that the number of billionaires in India will grow by an exponential 98 per cent to 119 in the year 2023 from 60 billionaires last year.
India will rank fourth after US, China and Russia in 2023 and will have more billionaires than the UK, Germany and France, according to the report. "Wealth creation in India, the world's third-biggest economy, is also expected to accelerate, with the number of Ultra High Networth Individuals (UHNWIs) forecast to nearly double over the next decade," the report said.
"This reflects the more positive outlook for India's economy after 2013 was marked by capital outflows and a sharp devaluation of the rupee. This tough environment for wealth creation and preservation was reflected in the one per cent decline in the number of UHNWIs in the country during the year," it said.
The report said the number of centa-millionaires (those with USD 100 million in disposable assets) in India is also projected to grow 99 per cent to 761 in 2023 from 383 last year. The country will further see an increase of 99 per cent in the number of UHNWIs to 3130 in 2023 from 1576 last year.
The growth of UHNWIs in China and India, coupled with a whopping 144 per cent increase in Indonesia and 166 per cent hike in Vietnam, will help push the total number of UHNWIs in Asia up by 43 per cent to 58,588 by 2023, overtaking the total number in North America. The number of billionaires in Asia is also forecast to overtake the number in Europe over the next decade.
Asian cities are also expected to see the fastest growth in the number of ultra wealthy individuals over the next decade. Mumbai will see the fourth highest rate of growth in its UHNWI population between 2013 and 2023, with this number increasing 126 per cent to 1302 in 2023 from 577 last year.
Delhi will closely follow Mumbai and will record the fifth highest growth in its UHNWIs population, which will increase 118 per cent from 147 last year to 321 in the next decade, according to the report. By 2024, Mumbai is also projected to figure in the top 10 global cities, a ranking which it does not currently have, the report said.
