Population of India’s superwealthy to double by 2024

The number of India's superwealthy, defined as those with a net worth of $30 million or more, is expected to increase to 3,371 people over the next decade from 1,652, according to Knight Frank.

A worker walks past an advertisement for luxury residential towers at a construction site in Mumbai. Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg News

The number of superwealthy people in India is expected to double over the next 10 years, a new report predicts.

The number of superwealthy, defined as those with a net worth of US$30 million or more, excluding their main residence, is expected to increase to 3,371 people over the next decade from 1,652, according to a wealth report by Knight Frank.

“This reflects a more positive outlook for India’s economy after 2014 was marked by capital outflows and a sharp devaluation of the rupee,” said Shishir Baijal, the chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India.

The country’s economic growth slowed sharply over the past couple of years, although there are signs that the economy is picking up. The fastest rise among the superwealthy will take place in Mumbai, followed by Delhi and Hyderabad, according to the report.

Mumbai’s luxury residential property is more expensive than Dubai, costing 61,300 rupees (Dh3,596) per square foot compared to 40,455 rupees per sq ft in the emirate, according to the report. But wealth distribution is a major challenge in India, where well over half of the population lives on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank.

“In spite of the government of India taking bold steps towards financial inclusion, wealth concentration continues to remain a challenge,” said Samantak Das, the chief economist and director of research at Knight Frank India.

“At 0.1 ultra high net worth individuals per 100,000 population, India ranks a distant 84 among 97 countries globally in terms of equitable distribution of wealth. The concentration of wealthy Indians also extends geographically, as the top six cities contribute 58 per cent of the number of superwealthy, which is likely to accelerate to 68 per cent in the next 10 years.”

Close to half of Indian superwealthy investment portfolios are allocated to property, which is the highest of any country in the world, the report showed. About 15 people a day globally last year joined the ranks of the ultra-wealthy, Knight Frank said.

The superwealthy in Asia have a total wealth of $5.9 trillion, ahead of North America with $5.5tn. Europe is in the lead with $6.4tn, it added.

India will be in fourth place globally by 2024 in terms of the number of billionaires it has, compared to seventh place last year. It had 68 billionaires last year compared to 26 in 2004, and it will have 136 billionaires by 2024, the report said. Only the United States, China and Russia will have more billionaires in a decade’s time, the report predicted.

India’s population of billionaires is expected to have overtaken the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany by then.

It was revealed last week that Dilip Shanghvi, the founder of Sun Pharma, had displaced Mukesh Ambani as India’s richest person in an index of billionaires compiled by Bloomberg. Mr Shanghvi’s net worth is $21.7bn compared to Mr Ambani’s fortune of $21.6bn. There were 14 billionaires in the UAE last year, compared to seven in 2004, the report revealed.

The population of billionaires in the UAE is expected to reach 18 by 2024. The country has 658 superwealthy, a number predicted to rise to 856 over the next 10 years.

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