There have never been so many rich people and their wealth has never been so high, thanks to the increase in stock prices, shows an international study carried out by the consulting firm Capgemini published on Wednesday.
The number of wealthy people in the world, defined by Capgemini as people whose disposable money outside their primary residence exceeds one million dollars, increased year-on-year by 5.1%, to 22.8 million people in 2023, calculated the firm in its study entitled “World Wealth Report”.
Their wealth has also increased, with an estimated total wealth of $86.8 trillion, an increase of 4.7% compared to the previous year.
In terms of number of people concerned and wealth, these are two records since Capgemini began publishing this annual study in 1997.
The progression of this wealth was mainly made possible by the rise in stock markets around the world: the American Nasdaq index soared by 43% and the S&P 500 by 24% in 2023, while in Paris the CAC index 40 took 16% and the DAX in Frankfurt 20%.
“Stocks jumped in conjunction with the tech market, fueled by enthusiasm for generative AI and its potential impact on the economy,” notes the firm in the study which evaluated 71 countries and uses a system as a methodology. statistical census and a graphical representation called the Lorenz curve.
In 2022, the richest people saw the value of their wealth experience the biggest decline in ten years, this time due to a decline in stock prices.
Last year, North America experienced the strongest growth in the number of individual millionaires with an increase of 7.1% as well as in wealth (+7.2%), ahead of Asia-Pacific and the Europe.
The levels of wealth and the parallel increase in inequalities have given rise in recent years to numerous debates on how to better make the highest assets contribute to tax.
At the G20, Brazil and France are pushing for a global minimum tax on the highest wealth, which could bring in an additional $250 billion if the world’s 3,000 billionaires paid at least the equivalent of 2% of their fortune in taxes. on income, one of the hypotheses under discussion.