Republic of Ireland has fifth largest number of super rich

The Republic has the fifth largest number of “ultra-wealthy” individuals per capita in the world, according to a new report.

The study shows that there are 421 super rich individuals per million adults in the State, placing the Republic behind only Hong Kong, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Singapore.

Wealth-X, which has compiled the new figures, defines ultra-wealthy people as those who have a net worth of $30 million or more.

Its latest report shows there was muted growth in the global ultra-wealthy population last year and a fall in their net worth. The number of super rich individuals increased by 0.8 per cent to 265,490, while their combined wealth fell by 1.7 per cent to $32.3 trillion.

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The US is by far the leading country for ultra-wealthy individuals, accounting for 31 per cent of the global number. This compares with 9 per cent for second-placed China and nearly 7 per cent for third-placed Japan.

Hong Kong, which has the highest density of super rich people overall, saw its share fall by 11 per cent last year due to a slump in Asian stocks and a softening of the Chinese economy.

New York regained its status as the world's largest city for ultra-wealthy people, ahead of Hong Kong and Tokyo.

What about ultra-wealthy women?

The US accounted for six of the top 10 cities overall while North America contains the higher percentage of super rich individuals with 35 per cent share. It has 91,740 ultra-wealth people with a combined fortune of $10.8 trillion.

It is followed by Asia and Europe while Africa accounts for just 1 per cent market share with 2,410 super rich people with a combined fortune of $289 billion.

The Wealth-X study reveals that the number of ultra-wealthy women rose to about 38,700, equivalent to 14.6 per cent of all super rich individuals. It also shows that more than two-thirds of those with $30 million or more of net worth are self-made successes.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of those defined as ultra wealthy are aged 50 or more.

The global ultra-wealthy population is forecast to rise to 353,550 people by 2023, up 88,000 on last year’s total.

The combined wealth of such individuals, meanwhile, is expected to increase to $43 trillion, indicating an additional $10.7 trillion in newly created wealth is predicted over the next five years.