The increasing ease of becoming a millionaire beca-me clear yesterday, with the announcement that the ranks of world millionaires had swelled to 8.7 million last year ﾗ half a million more than the population of New York City.
Millionaires also invested more aggressively, pouring cash into emerging markets and pulling it out of fixed income holdings, as their wealth reached $33.3 trillion, more than double US economic output, a study by Merrill Lynch and consultancy Capgemini found.
The red-hot Middle East saw nearly 10 percent growth in millionaires ﾗ the world’s fastest rate ﾗ with record oil revenues and soaring stock markets pushing 300,000 people over the million-dollar mark.
“This is becoming a very attractive place to invest,” said Mones R Bazzy, Merrill Lynch’s head of Middle East private banking, based in the Gulf boomtown of Dubai. Bazzy spoke in a hotel conference room overlooking the world’s newest international stock market, the futuristic arch-shaped Dubai International Financial Center.
North America held a slight edge over Europe in the population of millionaires, with 2.9 million to Europe’s 2.8 million. Asia counted 2.4 million, Latin America 300,000 and Africa 100,000.
Millionaires are increasingly branching out from their home countries, with 65 percent paying attention to foreign markets and 30 percent buying homes overseas.
The Nassau Guardian
