Coinspeaker
Asia-Pacific Is Home to Most Billionaires Because of COVID-19 Pandemic Effects

Asia-Pacific region is far ahead when it comes to the number of billionaires than any other region. The stock market rally that is pandemic-induced has propelled the world’s super-rich people’s net worth to a new height.

Now, the world has 2,189 billionaires, who enjoy a combined wealth amounting to $10.2 trillion

Billionaires Club Concentrated in Asia-Pacific

Per Swiss bank UBS‘ new Billionaires Insights Report 2020, 831 (38%) of the wealthiest individuals were found to reside in Asia-Pacific, making the region account for the highest uber-wealthy who are worth $3.3 trillion.

The billionaires have surpassed their counterparts in the Americas at 762 (35%), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at 596 (27%). These findings are sourced from a report UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found after interviewing 2,000 billionaires across 43 markets globally. 

On Wednesday, during the report’s launch, UBS Global Wealth Management’s Anurag Mahesh said Asia-Pacific retain its global position as “the engine of wealth growth.”

UBS Wealth Management official Dominic Schnider recently stated that China led the world in the path of economic recovery and extensively made significant contributions in Asia-Pacific’s overall economic rebound. Mainland China emerged as the top wealth creation hub in the region, producing 415 billionaires. India followed with 114, Hong King with 65, Taiwan with 40, and Australia had 39. From the study, China had the second-largest billionaire pool globally after the US – which is home to 636 billionaires.

Significant Industries that Generated Wealth Most

The market recovery that has been witnessed since April’s dramatic sell-off is what has boosted most of this year’s billionaire wealth growth. Billionaires normally have most of their assets in investments in public companies.

In comparison to the EMEA and Americas, which had a 10.1% and 7.4% drop respectively, Asian billionaire wealth has been barely affected as the region got a 2.1% drop from 2019 to the peak of the downturn in April 2020.

Technology and health care sector – which have burgeoned during the pandemic – are the main propellers for the region’s dominance, according to UBS’s Global Family Office Asia-Pacific co-head Manesh.

Asia-Pacific boasts of taking the highest share of tech and health-care billionaires globally as it takes 8% (181) in comparison to in the Americas that takes 7% (153) while EMEA takes only 4%(88). 

PwC Singapore, partner and asset and wealth management tax leader Mr. Anuj Kagalwala, noted that “innovators and disruptors” in these sectors outpaced others in wealth creation. He said:

“It is interesting but not surprising that wealth in the tech and healthcare sectors surged ahead at a faster rate than other sectors.”

Economic Recovery Phenomenon

Before the report came out, some economists argued that the K-shaped economic recovery phenomenon, where different sectors recover at different rates, explains the current outcome in this pandemic period. Implying, the wealthiest quickly rebound financially while the poorest worsen.

According to the report, from March to June this year, 209 billionaires donated $7.2 billion towards pandemic relief efforts.

Asia-Pacific Is Home to Most Billionaires Because of COVID-19 Pandemic Effects