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The number of millionaires in the UK is set to fall by 17% over the next years, according to a report that shows that people are getting richer across the globe.
The UK had over three million adults owning $1m (£779,145) or more last year according to the 2024 Global Wealth Report from UBS. However, the Swiss investment bank expects the number of millionaires in the UK to fall to roughly 2.54 million by 2028.
Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, said that the UK currently has the third highest number of dollar millionaires, which he called “far more than it deserves to have as an economy.”
Another reason behind the expected decline in millionaires includes sanctions against the Kremlin which has left many wealthy Russians considering leaving the UK and the “non-indigenous millionaire population”, always on the look out for low-tax countries such as Dubai and Singapore, Donovan added.
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The report shows that UK millionaires collectively owned $8.4trn, followed by some 26 million Britons who have a net worth between $100k and $1m, usually by either investments or a property/mortgage.
Around 12.6 million people in the UK have between $10k and 100k and at the bottom of the wealth pyramid there’s 10.1 million Britons who have under $10k in assets.
People who begin in the lowest wealth bracket would have a 60% chance of moving up at least one wealth bracket, and a one-in-three chance of moving up two or more wealth brackets, the report found.
Growth in average wealth per adult was particularly buoyant last year, at nearly 16%, the fourth-highest among the 56 markets analysed by UBS.
The average wealth of a UK resident stood at $350,264 last year, with the median wealth coming in at $163,515.
According to the UBS report the country with the most extensive wealth in the world is Switzerland, with an average of $709,000 per adult.
Overall, the United States, mainland China, and the UK currently hold the highest numbers of US dollar millionaires, with the US accounting for 38% of global millionaires.
Projections indicate that by 2028, the number of adults with wealth over $1m will rise in 52 of the 56 markets analysed, with Taiwan expected to see a 47% increase.
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That growth was followed by Turkey (43%), Kazakhstan (37%), Indonesia (32%) and Japan (28%).
Looking ahead, approximately $83trn is expected to be transferred globally within the next decades.
A portion of this wealth ($9trn) will initially transfer horizontally between spouses, particularly benefiting women due to their longer life expectancy.
Millennials and younger generations will inherit $74trn from their parents and grandparents over the next two decades.
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