The share of the world's wealth held by millionaires surged to almost 50 per cent in 2017 as equities and investment funds enjoyed a global bull market, according to new analysis published today.
The total personal financial wealth of the world topped $200 trillion in 2017, according to the data from Boston Consulting Group. That represented a 12 per cent increase year-on-year, the fastest rate of growth for five years.
A third of the UK's wealth is now owned by millionaires, the report found.
Read more: British dollar millionaires to fall behind rest of the rich world
The world's rich have been the main beneficiaries from investments in higher-return assets as a period of synchronised growth in almost all of the world's major economies boosted the dollar value of financial assets.
British people holds $9 trillion in total, representing five per cent of total global personal wealth, although the weakness of the US dollar boosted the UK. The vast majority of that is accounted for by housing, which was worth £6.8 trillion in 2016, according to separate figures from estate agents Savills.
Some 60 per cent of the world's wealth, $121.6 trillion, is now in the form of investable assets, such as equities, currencies, bonds and investment funds.
America is still the bastion of wealthy investors, with the US holding more than 30 per cent of the wealth held by high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, or $8 trillion in investable assets.
Yet the rise of Asia continues to reshape the global economy, with $36 trillion now owned in Asia, a 19 per cent increase compared to 2016. Western Europe's total wealth stood at $45.2 trillion, a 15 per cent increase.
Read more: Ranked: These are the world's largest money managers
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