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Millionaires and billionaires
MoneyWealth

Hong Kong, mainland China’s ultra-rich population fell last year, as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia made top 10 on Knight Frank wealth list

  • The number of ultra-rich in Hong Kong is, however, forecast to rebound from 5,686 last year to 7,280 by 2027
  • Mainland China’s population of the ultra rich is expected to see a 49.8 per cent jump by 2027

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The decline in Hong Kong and mainland China UHNWI numbers occurred amid a global drop of 3.8 per cent in 2022, the report says. Photo: KY Cheng
Elise Makin Beijing
Hong Kong and mainland China witnessed a decline in their populations of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) last year, while Singapore was among the top 10 countries experiencing their fastest growth, according to a wealth report released by property consultancy Knight Frank on Tuesday.
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The number of UHNWIs in Hong Kong decreased last year by 6 per cent to 5,686, but Knight Frank predicts that this number will rebound to 7,280 by 2027. Similarly, mainland China had 88,024 UHNWIs in 2022, a decrease of 5.9 per cent from the previous year, but the country is expected to see a 49.8 per cent jump by 2027.

The decline in Hong Kong and mainland China UHNWI numbers occurred amid a global drop of 3.8 per cent in 2022, following a record increase of 9.3 per cent in 2021.

“The fall last year in the total number of UHNWIs globally was due in large part to the weak performing equities and bond markets,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank. “However, 100 prime residential markets globally saw average price growth of 5.2 per cent and luxury investment assets grow 16 per cent, which helped steady the decline.”

The decline in Hong Kong’s UHNWI population stands in contrast with Singapore’s performance, with the Lion City seeing its number rise by 6.9 per cent. Moreover, the Knight Frank report comes less than a month after a report by London-based migration consultancy Henley & Partners found that Singapore saw a 40 per cent increase in its population of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) between 2012 and 2022, while Hong Kong lost 27 per cent.
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While Knight Frank defines UHNWIs as those with more than US$30 million in net assets, Henley & Partners define HNWIs as those with investible assets exceeding US$1 million.

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