Spain becomes richer by 5.4%

SPAIN The headline needs clarification: the number of millionaires in Spain has grown by 5.4%, according to the latest report from RBC Wealth Management Report, created and published in conjunction with Capgemini, in its 17th edition. In 2012 there were 144,600 Spanish citizens owning assets of at least €0.74 million, not including their primary residence or consumables. That's 5.4% more than in 2011. Globally, the number of individuals with large assets increased by 10% in 2012, which amounts to the record amount of €34.5 billion, after a drop of 1.7% the year before.>>>

A million people were added to the list of the very rich, where those from the USA were overtaken by individuals from the Asia-Pacific region, which heads it.

The only region not to have increased its very rich population is Latin America - though the world's richest man is Mexican Carlos Slim.

As to the future, the report forecasts that the large-asset population will grow by 6.5% annually for the next three years, against the annual 2.6% growth prior to the financial crisis. This is because 33% of the individuals are concentrating on conserving their assets, against 26% who will be looking to build on them.