It appears Singaporeans are a wealthy lot, coming in sixth in a world ranking of household wealth per adult.
The ranking, published in Credit Suisse Research Institute’s annual Global Wealth Report last month, compared the household wealth of 5.1 billion people worldwide, with Switzerland, Hong Kong and the US identified as the world’s three richest nationalities.
The report – which took its numbers from “reliable” household sector balance sheet data – said there were 207,000 millionaires living in Singapore.
Five per cent of Singaporeans – or 226,000 individuals – belonged to the world’s richest 1 per cent of people, which was defined as those with over US$936,400 to their name.
In addition, a whopping 2.18 million Singaporeans were among the world’s richest 10 per cent, with wealth over US$109,400.
This is almost half the 5 million adults living here, according to the report.
“In Singapore, wealth per adult measured in US dollars grew strongly during 2000 to 2012. After that it fell, mostly due to currency depreciation, but has been growing again since 2015,” the report said.
The average person’s wealth tripled from around US$115,000 in 2000 to about US$300,000 in 2019 – making Singaporeans the second richest people in Asia.
The global average in 2019 was US$70,850 – a record high.
This US$300,000 net worth typically came from US$200,000 in financial assets (such as stocks) and US$150,000 in real assets (such as property).
The average debt was US$50,000, which the report called “moderate for a high-wealth country”.
“Financial assets make up 57 per cent of gross household wealth in Singapore, which is a ratio similar to that of Switzerland,” the report said.
It added that the rise was “mostly caused by high savings, asset price increases, and an increase in the exchange rate from 2000 to 2019.”
by Business Insider Singapore
