The 最高の-rich with £20m to spare

By Joanne Hart for The Mail on Sunday
Updated: 00:00 BST, 14 May 2001

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ALMOST 60,000 people around the world have spare cash of more than £20m. Together they own £5.9 一兆 of readily-利用できる money. The 階級s of the 極端に 豊富な grew by 3% over the year from 1999 to 2000 but the 量 they owned 増加するd 6%.

They are known as ultra-high 逮捕する 価値（がある） individuals and form a small subset of the world's wealthiest people.

Those with 資産s 除外するing 所有物／資産／財産 of more than $1m (£700,000), number 7.2 million globally, an 増加する of 180,000 from 1999. Between them, these people have £19 一兆 at their 処分, also up 6% from 1999.

The 人物／姿／数字s were 収集するd by Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young for their World Wealth 報告（する）／憶測. The data shows that 騒然とした market 条件s last year had a serious 衝撃 on the number of new dollar millionaires. In the first ４半期/4分の1 of 2000, their numbers 増加するd by 260,000 but as 在庫／株s fell, 80,000 dropped out of the league.

Since 1986, the wealth of the world's 豊富な has 急に上がるd by 375% and Merrill Lynch 予測（する）s 8% 年次の growth for the next five years, to almost £28bn by 2005.

The US has 歴史的に spawned most of the globe's richest people but Europe is catching up. Last year, the number of high-逮捕する 価値（がある） Europeans rose 6% to 2.3 million, almost a third of the total number. Each of them is 価値（がある） £3.1m on 普通の／平均（する）, 除外するing the value of their 所有物／資産／財産. The European 人物／姿／数字 含むs 350,000 Britons with £700,000 or more to spend.

Asia has seen the biggest growth in 豊富な 国民s in 最近の years. Since the 中央の-1980s, the 量 of money owned by Asian millionaires has grown by 600%. This compares with a 440% 増加する in Europe and a 313% 増加する in the US. The slowest growth has been in Africa, where wealth grew 166%, forming just 1.9% of the 全世界の total.