According to a survey by property consultants Knight Frank, Singapore has the highest population of salaried ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) with 31 per cent of the ultra-wealthy being salaried employees. In Asia, Singapore is followed by the Philippines (18 per cent), Chinese Mainland (16 per cent), India (14 per cent) and Hong Kong (13 per cent). Globally too, the island nation maintains its lead, followed by South Africa (28 per cent), Russia (25 per cent), Canada (22 per cent) and Switzerland (22 per cent).
“In spite of the pandemic-led economic recession in Singapore and an overall fall in median household income from work of 2.4% between 2019 and 2020, the Knight Frank wealth sizing model projected that the number of UHNWIs in Singapore increased by about 10.2% annually to 3,732,” said Wendy Tang, Group Managing Director, Knight Frank Singapore.
At least 14% of India’s UHNWIs are from the salaried employee segment, the survey revealed, making India has the fourth highest contributor in the Asia Pacific for salaried employees in the ultra-wealthy club.
Commenting on the survey, Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India said, “The rise in the number of salaried employees, who now occupy space in the UHNWI list in India can be largely attributed to the growth of India as a key regional and global economy."
The Wealth Report Attitudes Survey by Knight Frank collected responses from over 600 private bankers, wealth advisors, intermediaries and family offices who manage over USD 3.3 trillion of wealth of UHNWIs.