Millionaires to control half of world’s wealth by 2020: report

Millionaires will control over half of the world's wealth by 2020, according to a new report, with the richest millionaires gaining the most.

The number of millionaire households in the world rose 6 per cent in 2015, to 18.5 million, according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Global Wealth report. The increase comes as a slowdown from the 11 per cent millionaire growth in 2014.

Still, millionaires currently control 47 per cent of the world's wealth and would control 52 per cent by 2020, according to the report. Also, the richest of the rich would benefit the most, especially in the US.

Those worth more than $20 million in the US would control 29 per cent of the country's wealth by 2020, marking an increase from 24 per cent in 2015 and 20 per cent in 2010, report said.

Those worth less than $1 million would see their share of wealth shrink to 29 per cent of the total, from 34 per cent in 2015 and 40 per cent in 2010.

The trend was expected to accelerate in the next five years, as the largest wealth gains were expected to be garnered by the very top of the top. US households worth $20 million or more would see their wealth grow by over 7.6 per cent in the next five years, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the rising numbers of millionaires in the fast-growing economies of China and India helped to push global private wealth to $168 trillion in 2015.

The 5.2 per cent increase in wealth among the world's richest individuals was driven largely by the Asia-Pacific area, which was projected to overtake western Europe as the second wealthiest region behind North America next year.

China saw one of the biggest jumps in millionaire households of all countries in the BCG annual wealth report, up 27 per cent to 2.07 million.