India’s super rich will double to 1.6 million by 2027: Knight Frank

• India’s billionaires are expected to grow to 195 by 2027, says a Knight Frank wealth report.
  
• India has new opportunities in manufacturing, infrastructure, tech and more, which will aid wealth creation, says Shishir Baijal, CMD of Knight Frank India.
  
• Even as the number of HNIs and billionaires in India grew in 2022 from the year before, the number of UHNIs fell by 7.5%.
  

As of 2022, India is home to 797,714 high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), or those whose asset value is at $1 million or more. Such individuals will double in number – growing at a massive 108% in the next five years to 1.7 million, estimates a report by Knight Frank.

India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), with net worth over $30 million are estimated to grow by 58.4% from 12,069 in 2022 to 19,119 individuals in 2027. India’s billionaires are expected to grow from 161 to 195 by 2027, says Knight Frank’s ‘The Wealth Report 2023’.

“India’s hectic development activities in core and non-core sectors has helped accelerate economic growth in recent times. Aligned to that is India’s significant position as a global startup hub creating new wealth,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India.

Added to that, India has new opportunities emanating from sectors like global manufacturing in India, infrastructure development, technology startups etc. According to Baijal, this will propel economic momentum and help the cause of wealth creation in the country, leading to the rise in the number of wealthy individuals in India.

Wealth distribution in India

Source: Knight Frank Research

Slowdown in global UHNI population

Even as the number of HNIs and billionaires in India grew in 2022 from the year before, UHNIs dipped by 7.5%, tracking the global trend. In 2022, the global UHNI population fell by 3.8%, after it registered a record breaking growth of 9.3% in 2021. This is due to the strong economic rebound in 2021 and its quick reversal in 2022. The total wealth held by UHNIs also fell by 10% in 2022.

“The fall last year in the total number of UHNWIs globally was due in large part to the weak -performing equities and bond markets. On the flip side however, 100 prime residential markets globally saw average price growth of 5.2% and luxury investment assets grew 16%, which helped steady the decline,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank.

In spite of the dip, the global UHNI population grew by 44% in the five years to 2022. “Although we forecast growth to slow to 28.5% over the next five years, the recent dip will prove short lived as we adapt to a new economic environment,” Bailey said.

While the world’s UHNI population contracted last year, the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) expanded by 2.9% to number almost 70 million worldwide – only Europe as a region saw HNI numbers dwindle. The number of billionaires meanwhile declined by 5% to 2,629.

The report also says that the first four months of 2023 have seen the mood shift to that of greater optimism — improving the chances of wealth creation going ahead.