2022 was a year of extremes, as wealth markets responded to a diminishing global pandemic, a war in Europe, elevated inflation and a rare new cycle of monetary tightening. Total net worth of the billionaire class in 2022 declined by 5.5%, to $11.1trn. This was the second-largest annual fall in the past decade, although it only partially offset the double-digit surge in billionaire wealth recorded in 2021.
The tenth edition of the Billionaire Census, leveraging Wealth-X data, reveals that the global billionaire population fell by 3.5% to 3,194 individuals. The last time this population saw a decline was in 2018 and it more than reversed the previous year’s gains.
The Billionaire Census 2023 examines the changes in the net worth and total population by region and city. Among the numerous findings the report reveals the top 15 billionaire countries are home to three-quarters of the global billionaire population. underlining the influential status of this select group of wealth markets and the focused opportunities for companies and organizations that engage with the super wealthy.
- The top three spots are taken by the US, China and Germany.
Download the Billionaire Census 2023 and discover more insight including:
- North America registered a decline in its billionaire population for the first time in four years
- Of the top-ranked cities, Singapore made the strongest gains in billionaire numbers, becoming home to 54 billionaires in 2022
- The allure of cities remains strong with billionaires, New York, Hong Kong and San Francisco lead the city rankings
The Billionaire Census 2023 includes and analysis of the population by age group and finds self-made wealth dominates across all billionaire age groups. In addition to the source of wealth, the age analysis also includes industry affiliation, asset allocation, interests, passions and hobbies.
Maya Imberg is the Head of Thought Leadership and Analytics at Altrata. She is responsible for spearheading the company’s thought leadership efforts and overseeing its analytics and predictive modeling services commissioned by clients. She joined Wealth-X in 2016 as Director of Custom Research responsible for secondary research, data analytics and branded content. Maya has over fifteen years of experience in research, spanning market research, macroeconomics and financial services. Prior to joining Wealth-X, Maya held a variety of consultant and economist roles at the Economist Intelligence Unit and spent a number of years working for Datamonitor’s Financial Services practice. Maya holds an undergraduate and MSc degree in economics and comparative politics from the University of Pennsylvania and London School of Economics respectively.