Despite an economic slowdown, China has surpassed the United States in the top 10 percent of the world's income by having the highest number of wealthy residents, the 2019 Global Wealth Survey shows.
The report discloses both the rising wealth and the growing inequality around the world, especially in mainland China, the world's second largest economy. Public displeasure over inequality has helped sparked protests around the world in recent months.
According to the authors of Credit Suisse Wealth Survey, "inequality has grown significantly since 2000. China now has 4.4 millionaires and this year has set another milestone with 100 million members of the world's top 10 percent, for the first time overtaking the 99 million members in the U.S., the authors said.
China "was one of the few countries to avoid the consequences of the global financial crisis," Credit Suisse experts said. China's success, they pointed out, has allowed the country to overtake Europe as the main source of global wealth growth and overtook Japan as the country with the second largest number of millionaires."
Despite starting from a much lower position in the early 21st century, China has seen rapid economic growth and developed wealth faster compared to other nations.
Over the course of this century, China's overall household wealth has risen seventeen-fold: from $3.8 trillion to $64 trillion, more than triple other nations' levels.
In 2019, global wealth reached $361 trillion, among other findings in the analysis. There are currently 47 millionaires worldwide, representing 1 percent of adults who own 45 percent of all wealth collectively.
By total household wealth, the authors of the report concluded that China is behind only the U.S., backed by a powerful property market. The proportion of non-financial household assets was up from 42 percent in 2015 to 54 perecnt this year, however China's debt ratio is still low by international standards, the survey shows.
The U.S. has the most leaders in the top 1 percent of earnings, and houses 40 percent of the world's millionaires. Switzerland is the top country with the highest average wealth per adult, at $564,650, followed by Hong Kong ($489,260) and the U.S. ($432,370).
Wealth is also growing in other countries. In the wake of the financial crisis, India has seen consistently better numbers after a setback in 2008.
Wealth has increased steadily, reaching a peak of $15,000 per person throughout 2017. By mid-2019, the country's average wealth per person was $14,569.
