India ranks 4th in global billionaire wealth, just behind the United States, China and Russia, as its billionaire population expanded 12% from 2023 to 2024, according to Knight’s Frank’s latest Wealth Report, published on Wednesday.
The latest data collated by the global property consultant highlights India’s expanding wealth landscape, with the HNWI population – those comprising assets exceeding $10 million – reaching 85,698 added the report.
India currently boasts 191 billionaires, of which 26 were created within the past year – up from just 7 in 2019.
France, Brazil, and Russia are also seeing significant increases.
India’s HNWIs make up 3.7% of the global $10million+ population, and are projected to reach 93,753 by 2028.
India’s economy expanded by 6.2% in October-December 2024, according to Reuters data, picking up on increased government and consumer spending, and remains the world’s fastest growing major economy.
Pakistan
Meanwhile, cash-strapped Pakistan is awaiting the first review of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
There was no mention of the country within the Wealth Report
Pakistan is still looking to crawl out of an economic impasse that saw the depreciation of its currency from Rs178 to a record low of Rs307 against the greenback in September 2023.
Currently, it hovers around the Rs278 range and its current account deficit sits at $420 million as of January 2025.
India has pegged GDP growth for the year at 6.5% and currently ranks 8th globally with 840.76 metric tonnes of gold reserve.
The United States remains the primary hub for wealth creation remains as almost 40% of the world’s HNWI population live in the US,compared with 20% for its nearest rival, China. Japan is the only other nation to boast a share of wealthy individuals larger than 5%.
Meanwhile, the population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) those with assets exceeding US$100 million – surpassed 100,000 for the first time, reflecting a broader trend of growing wealth across the world.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the US led the world in wealth creation
during 2024, with a 5.2% expansion in its population of HNWIs.
Asia was close behind with growth of 5%, followed by Africa, which saw a 4.7% surge, albeit from a much lower base. Australasia’s HNWI population rose 3.9%, helped by its access to both Asian and North American markets.
Emerging entrepreneurs
An explosion in smartphone access in emerging economies has created “a very entrepreneurial population that is able to grow businesses internationally
more quickly than they otherwise would have done,” James Pomeroy, global economist at HSBC was quoted as stating by Knight Frank.
“This has created a start-up culture that’s been a big part of the growth story in places like India and the Philippines,” he adds.
“These entrepreneurs can then become super wealthy, so we’re seeing a broadening out from that old Asia driven by manufacturing into a new Asia with a high-tech enterprise culture.”
In terms of Prime International Residential Index (PIRI), global luxury house prices rose 3.6% .through 2024 as Seoul led the way and Delhi and Mumbai followed in 18th and 21st place.
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