There are now 2,325 billionaires in the world, who control a total wealth of $7.291 trillion, or 4% of global GDP. Roughly 19% of that wealth is held in cash, 5% in assets like art collections, yachts or property, and the rest is in banking and investments.
Europe beats North America for sheer number of billionaires, with 775 in Europe versus 609 in North America. But the two regions were neck and neck for total wealth: Europe's billionaires had $2.375 trillion, whereas North America's held $2.371 trillion.
Asia had the third biggest population of billionaires with a total of $1.41 trillion in wealth, followed by the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and lastly the Pacific.
Wealth X and UBS Billionaire Census Report 2014
In fact, the US population of billionaires exceeded the populations in China, the UK, Germany, and Russia combined. But it's worth noting that with current projections, China will overtake the US for most billionaires by 2027.
You can see more billionaire insights by downloading the Wealth-X report here.