With 71 billionaires, Saudi Arabia is among top ten countries ‎inhabited by wealthy

A report by a company specializing in tracking wealth around the world revealed that Saudi Arabia ranked ninth in terms of countries that are home to the rich, specifically billionaires, with 71 billionaires, while the United States topped the list with 955 billionaires, then China second with 357 billionaires. The number of wealthy people in Saudi Arabia exceeded the number of wealthy people in countries including Italy, France and Canada. According to the list, Germany ranked third with 173 billionaires, then the United Kingdom fourth with 114 billionaires, India fifth with 113 billionaires, Russia sixth with 112 billionaires, then Hong Kong seventh with 112 billionaires, while Switzerland ranked eighth with 110 billionaires. Followed by Saudi Arabia ninth with 71 billionaires, Italy tenth with 67 billionaires, France ranked eleventh with 65 billionaires, Canada ranked twelfth with 56 billionaires, then Singapore ranked thirteenth with 54 billionaires, and Brazil ranked fourteenth. With 48 billionaires, the United Arab Emirates ranked fifteenth with 45 billionaires.

According to the “WealthX” report of the world’s wealthy, nearly a third of the world’s wealthy are concentrated in only 16 cities, according to a new analysis of the habits and patterns of the wealthiest individuals. The Billionaires Census, according to the report, concluded that 29% of the 3,194 richest people in the world, who have a total net worth of $11.1 trillion, live in the same number of major cities in 2022 as they have over the past several years. The report noted that New York City is still home to the largest number of billionaires, with 136 billionaires.

According to the report, the year 2022 witnessed the first annual decline in the number of billionaires since 2018, as the number decreased by 3.5% to 3,194 individuals. It was a year full of increasing fluctuations in the global economy, which was affected by successive events from a global pandemic to a new war in Europe, in addition to high inflation rates and deepening tension between the United States and China. Total wealth fell 5.5% to $11.1 trillion, the second largest annual decline in the past decade.

The “WealthX” report deals with the rise in wealth in the Middle East, driven by the rise in energy prices. It recorded the fourth largest increase in the wealth of billionaires in the world, with a rate of 7.2% in cumulative wealth, to $ 556 billion. In striking contrast, the report revealed a decline in the number of billionaires in the region by 2.1% to 187 individuals only, attributing this to economic pressures and social unrest. While the 15 largest countries in terms of the number of billionaires are home to three-quarters of the billionaires in the world, which confirms the influential position of this selected group of wealth markets and the opportunities available to companies and institutions that deal with the wealthy in these markets, while there are other hotspots for the owners of wealth in All over Asia, America and the Middle East. Most major cities are consistent in their population of billionaires, gaining or losing one or two each between 2021 and 2022 – with the exception of Singapore, which gained four of the world’s richest people during the same time period, according to Business Insider.

However, the number of billionaires worldwide decreased by 3.5% in 2022 due to what the study authors called “a new war in Europe, rising inflation, and rising tensions between the United States and China.” At the same time, people associated with industries including technology, retail, energy, healthcare and transportation saw their average wealth decline by more than 5% in 2022. The report added that “the billionaire class has a great and growing influence on the global economy.” The report counted 16 cities in which the world’s wealthy are concentrated

North America recorded a decline in the number of billionaires and their cumulative wealth for the first time in four years, as the number of billionaires decreased by 2.3%, to 1011 individuals. However, it retained its position in the forefront as the region inhabited by the largest number of wealthy people

In this context, Asia recorded the largest decline in the number of billionaires and their wealth compared to any other region around the world in 2022; the number of billionaires decreased by 7.1% to 835 individuals, and in Europe the number of billionaires decreased by 2.2% to 933 people.

While billionaires whose fortunes were related to technology, health care and real estate lost more than 5% of it in 2022. At the same time, fortunes related to space, defense, construction and engineering, as well as food and beverages, showed more flexibility and stability.