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Knight Frank, a leading asset management company, has recently shared insights in its latest Wealth Report. The report meticulously analyzes the financial benchmark that launches one into the wealthiest 1% echelon of the global population.
The result? A compelling view of the stark disparity between the affluent and less privileged, punctuated by a range of thresholds across 25 diverse countries.
Entry to Elite: A Game of Millions
At the apex of the wealth spectrum is Monaco, a paradise for the ultra-rich.
Here, an individual would need a net worth of a staggering $12.4 million to join the ranks of the top 1% of the country's residents. Contrastingly, at the opposite end of the scale, in Kenya, a net worth of merely $20,000 qualifies one as a tycoon.
Monaco stands unchallenged in this financial hierarchy, while Switzerland follows as a close second, with a requisite wealth bar set at $6.6 million. Rounding out the top five are Australia ($5.5 million), New Zealand ($5.2 million), and the United States ($5.1 million).
Trailing behind Monaco, we see thresholds in the Philippines ($57,000), South Africa ($109,000), India ($175,000), and Mexico ($383,000).
The Tale of Two Extremes: Billionaires and the Rest
As Bloomberg pointed out, these figures underscore the significant divide between rich and poor countries—a chasm widened by the pandemic and escalating global living costs.
The economic threshold in Monaco, for instance, is over 200 times higher than that in the Philippines. Meanwhile, as lower-income families grapple with rising costs of necessities like food and housing, the richest continue to amass wealth.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world's 500 wealthiest people collectively amassed over $600 billion this year alone. Topping this list is Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, who accrued a cool $41.8 billion in just five months, followed by Bernard Arno, with $40.6 billion.
Despite these awe-inspiring figures highlighted in the Global Super Rich Survey, it's worth mentioning that the total number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals dipped by 3.8% last year. This subtle shift reminds us that while wealth can grant access to the world of the ultra-rich, it remains an exclusive club, not easily accessible to all.
