The global ultra high net worth (UHNW) population increased by 7.6 per cent to 426,330 individuals in 2023, Altrata’s latest World Ultra Wealth Report has shown.

This marked a “strong rebound” from the previous year’s reduction, and meant this cohort was 20 per cent larger than five years ago.

In the UK, the UHNW population increased by 10.6 per cent in 2023 to 15,640 individuals.

London was the city with the sixth most UNHW individuals, rising by 11.1 per cent in 2023 to 6,245 people.

“The slow-puncture damage of Brexit to the UK’s economy and international standing remains a constraint on overall wealth-generation prospects, although London’s enduring appeal among the ultra wealthy as a cultural, financial and real-estate hub will persist,” the report stated.

The analysis, which used data from Wealth-X, showed that while UHNW individuals made up just 1.1 per cent of the HNW population, they held a “substantially” larger share of wealth.

In 2023, the collective net worth of UHNW individuals was US$49.2trn, accounting for 32 per cent of the wealth held by the HNW population.

People with wealth of more than US$30m were classed as UHNW individuals, while very HNW individuals, or those with between USD$5m and US$30m, held US$39.5trn of wealth.

Altrata’s study found that growth in the UHNW population in North America outpaced that in Europe, and outpaced that of Asia to an even greater degree.

The number of UHNW people in the US increased by 13 per cent to 147,950, while China’s UNHW numbers fell by 1 per cent to 46,060.

The global ultra wealth population was forecast to expand across all regions over the next five years.

Three of the top 10 fastest growing UNHW cities over the next five years were found to be in India, with the UHNW population in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi forecast to grow at an annual rate of between 14 and 16 per cent.

"The world’s major cities will be an increasingly important base for wealth generation,” Altrata noted.

“By 2028, we forecast that almost 42 per cent of the ultra wealthy class will be based in one of the top 50 UHNW cities, up from 38 per cent in 2015.”

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