India’s ultra-wealthy population to surge 58.4% in next five years: Knight Frank

India's high-net-worth-individual (HNI) population — people with assets worth $1 million or more — is pegged to rise to 1.65 million from 797,714 persons in 2022 (representative image)

India’s ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNWI) population — those with a net worth over $30 million — is estimated to shoot up by 58.4 percent in the next five years, from 12,069 in 2022 to 19,119 individuals in 2027. India’s billionaire population is expected to go up from 161 individuals in 2022 to 195 individuals in 2027, according to Knight Frank’s Wealth Report 2023.

The country’s high-net-worth-individual (HNI) population — people with assets worth $1 million or more — is pegged to rise to 1.65 million from 797,714 persons in 2022, recording an impressive 107 percent jump over the same five-year period.

In 2022, the global population of UHNWIs declined by 3.8 percent after a record climb of 9.3 percent in 2021, as the wealth and investment portfolios of the ultra-wealthy were hit by economic slowdowns, frequent rate hikes and rising geopolitical uncertainties, it said.

The trend was noted in India, too, where the UHNWI population registered a decline of 7.5 percent YoY in 2022 over 2021. For India, apart from the rise in interest rates, the appreciation of the US dollar also had an impact on wealth. However, the HNI population remained on the growth path, registering YoY growth of 4.5 percent in 2022. India’s billionaire population rose 11 percent YoY in 2022 compared to the previous year.

According to a study based on Knight Frank’s Wealth Sizing Model, the total net worth required by an individual to be among the top 1 percent wealthy individuals in India is estimated to be $175,000.

The wealth needed to join their ranks varies sharply from country to country. In Monaco, which has the world’s densest population of super-rich individuals, the entry point for the 1 percent club is $12.4 million. Interestingly, this is double the amount needed in Switzerland, the second-placed country in this study, which has an entry level of $6.6 million. In Asia, Singapore has the highest threshold with $3.5 million followed by Hong Kong with $3.4 million.

“India’s hectic development activities in core and non-core sectors has helped accelerate economic growth in recent times. Aligned to that is India’s significant position as a global start-up hub creating new wealth. The new opportunities emanating from sectors like global manufacturing in India, infrastructure development, technology start-ups etc. will propel economic momentum and help the cause of wealth creation in the country, leading to the rise in the number of wealthy individuals in India,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India.

In 2022, the dominance of Asia in the creation of wealthy people saw a slowdown, with the UHNWI population declining by 6.5 percent YoY. However, three of the top ten highest growth spots were Asian, held by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, which recorded a rise of 5 percent to 7 percent rise in their ultra-wealthy population.

Further, this region is estimated to witness growth of close to 40 percent in its ultra-wealthy count in the next five years. By 2027, Asia will be home to 210,175 UHNIs, overtaking Europe and second only to the Americas.