Eight myths about the world's super rich
The ultra high net worth (UHNW) population – made up of individuals with a net worth of US$30 million or more – grew to 199,235 individuals in 2013, with a combined wealth of $27,770 billion. In other words, 0.003 per cent of the world's population held, in assets, the equivalent of almost 38 per cent of the world's GDP in 2013.
The importance and influence of the world’s UHNW individuals is increasing across various industries – from wealth management to
luxury as well as philanthropy, amongst others. While many firms, brands and non-profit organisations specifically target UHNW individuals, little research on this population had been undertaken until recently.
Wealth-X – a provider of intelligence on the UHNW population – is filing this gap, in an effort to support organisations that engage directly with this segment of the world's population. This report highlights why this research is so relevant across industries
The Eight Myths
1. The world’s wealthiest inherited all their money
This is a misconception. 65 per cent of the world’s UHNW individuals are self-made, with a further 16 per cent having only partly inherited their wealth, before going off to make their own fortunes.
In other words, only 19 per cent of the world’s UHNW population has fully inherited its wealth. In terms of fortunes, we also see that UHNW individuals with inherited wealth also have the lowest average net worth of US$130 million, as opposed to US$142 million for self-made UHNW individuals. Even for the world’s 2,170 billionaires, 60% have made their fortunes themselves, with a further 20 per cent being classified as inheritance/self-made.
2. The majority of super wealthy are investment bankers
While it is true that the finance, banking and investment industry is the single largest category from which UHNW individuals have derived their wealth, it is not still far from accounting for over 50 per cent of the UHNW population.
At the moment, 19 per cent of the world’s UHNW population is primarily engaged in that industry – meaning the majority are not.
This broad industry accounts for all categories of finance, from investment banking to hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, etc. Consequently, this is a misconception.
3. 'Technopreneurs are all hoody wearing college dropouts in their 20s'
While this certainly is the image prevalent with the technopreneur working at his/her start-up, the average age for an UHNW individual from the technology industry is 54, and many of these individuals are highly educated.
In fact, the technology industry accounts for only 4.1 per cent of the world’s wealthiest, a surprisingly small contribution given the large amount of media coverage this segment of the UHNW population receives.
4. 'I have to go to an Ivy League University to be an UHNW individual'
Although Harvard tops the ranking of the school with the most UHNW alumni, Harvard graduates only account for a small portion of the world’s UHNW population.
It is also worth noting that although the universities with the largest UHNW alumni population are from the Ivy League – specifically six of the top ten global universities (by number of UHNW alumni) are Ivy Leagues – their combined UHNW alumni population is under 7,000 individuals, or 3.5 per cent of the world’s total UHNW population.
Furthermore, over 27,000 UHNW individuals, or 13.6 per cent of the world's total UHNW population, do not have a higher education at all.
5. Wealthy are immune to economic cycles
The ultra wealthy do react differently to economic cycles, with many seemingly impervious to the fluctuations in the global economy.
They are “high beta”, thus their wealth tends to rise and fall more than most people’s wealth as it is tied to financial markets more than middle class individuals who have most of their wealth tied up in property.
However, it is not true that they are not affected by economic cycles. Indeed, the UHNW population declined by 20 per cent between 2008 and 2009, and its wealth by 22 per cent in the same period. During the crisis, the wealth of billionaires fell by more than the S&P500, with a 47 per cent fall in 2009.
Nonetheless, even if their wealth falls, their consumption patterns continue to be far larger than the average individual’s.
6. Chinese wealthy growing faster than everyone else
Last year, both China’s UHNW population and wealth declined, and it remains only the second biggest Asian UHNW economy, behind Japan. The United States still has three times the billionaires of China, and Wealth-X forecasts that it will take just over twenty years for Asia to overtake North America, let alone China. Last year, the fastest growing UHNW economies were:
7. The wealthy don’t give back
There are many ways in which the UHNW give back, and traditional philanthropy is merely one of these ways. The average UHNW philanthropist donates US$25 million over his lifetime, rising up to $100m for billionaire philanthropists.
However, only a third of the world’s UHNW individuals are estimated to have donated at least $1m, which is less 1 per cent of their average net worth. Nonetheless, other types of giving back such as impact investing, microfinancing, or simply job creation are prevalent across the UHNW population.
8. The world’s UHNW individuals all fly by private jet and own a superyacht
Only a small proportion of the world’s individuals have a high enough net worth to afford a 30-metre plus superyacht without overinvesting. Wealth-X estimates that only about 20 per cent of the world’s UHNW population, or under 40,000 individuals, can afford superyachts and/or private planes.
As a result, the chartering of both these luxury crafts have become more prominent, and many UHNW individuals and their families still travel on commercial airlines, albeit in first or business class. Although there are cases of extravagant living, the majority of the world's UHNW do not live ostentatious lives, but they can treat themselves to things and experiences they really want.
The global UHNW population is large and growing. Within this population, there are variations: not all UHNW individuals have similar interests, backgrounds, aspirations and behaviours. Indeed, while UHNW individuals all have access to significant wealth, there are numerous clusters and trends within this population, and without a keen understanding of what differentiators exist, marketing initiatives, client loyalty and retention of UHNW individuals will be sub-optimal.
Knowing and understanding these segments allow you to identify the right customers for your goods and services, or indeed, the right way to adapt your services or marketing initiatives to expand your client base.
Not only is it important to know how this population is currently segmented, it is also important to know what trends exist and how that may affect your global strategy. Some key trends were used as examples in this report, but as the population's demographics change and evolve, companies wishing to engage with the UHNW population need to be willing to learn, understand, and adapt, says the report.