The wealth per Indian adult stood at $17,420 at end June 2020, up a tad from $17,300 as of 2019 end, recording growth despite the pandemic, according to a report by Credit Suisse.

The annual growth of wealth per adult averaged 9.7 per cent over 2000-19 at current exchange rates, and 12.1 per cent with constant exchange rates. India had 912,000 millionaires, accounting for 2 per cent of the total 51.9 million millionaires globally as at the end of 2019, according to the Global Wealth Report 2020 published by the Credit Suisse Research Institute.

The country had 907,000 adults in the top 1 per cent of global wealth holders, which is a 1.8 per cent share. With 4,593 ultra high networth individuals (UHNI) in the country as at end 2019, India came in fourth after the US, China and Germany.

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Household wealth in India is dominated by property and other real assets, although financial assets have grown over time, now forming 22 per cent of gross assets. In 2019, non-financial assets rose by 12.5 per cent compared with 8.6 per cent growth in financial assets, it said.

Over the first half of 2020, while average wealth rose by only 1.7 per cent, Credit Suisse estimates that the full rise for 2020 will be 5-6 per cent and 2021 will see growth of about 9 per cent.

APAC

In the Asia-Pacific (including China and India), there were 45,920 UHNIs with net worth exceeding $50 million as at end 2019. The financial assets in the APAC region grew by $3,057 billion in the first six months of 2020, while non-financial assets rose by $1,639 billion, largely driven by China and India.

Globally, 2019 was an “exceptional year” for wealth creation, with total wealth rising by $36.3 trillion. The onset of the pandemic, however, resulted in a $17-trillion drop in household wealth between January-March. From March onward, stock-markets have rebounded and house prices have risen. Estimates for the second quarter of 2020 suggest that total household wealth is slightly up on the level at the end of last year, while wealth per adult is slightly down, the report said.

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The initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was felt through asset prices, causing global household net worth to fall by $17.5 trillion during January-March 2020, a 4.4 per cent reduction. Actions taken by governments and central banks then reversed this fall.

By June, global wealth was $1 trillion above the starting value. However, reduced GDP and rising debt will result in long-term damage; so wealth growth will be depressed for the next couple of years, and likely longer.

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