Romania's super rich lose USD 1 bln since last year

A new report on the world's super rich ranks Romania 26th out of 45 European countries for the number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI), with 125 Romanians worth in excess of USD 30 million each.

The total number of ultra rich Romanians remains unchanged from last year, but their total combined wealth has fallen by 8.4 percent. Last year the 125 super rich Romanians had USD 15 billion between them, this year the figure has fallen to USD 14 billion.

Germany comes out at the top of the European chart, with a UHNWI population of 15,770, followed by the UK, with 10,515, while Switzerland has 5,595 UHNWIs, or individuals with a personal fortune of USD 30 million plus.

It must be remembered that the figures are totals, not rates of incidence. So while Germany has a total population of over 80 million and the UK over 60 million, Switzerland's population is only 7 million.

The same effect is seen with Monaco, one place ahead of Romania with 195 UHNWIs. However, the nearly 200 super rich individuals from Monaco are from a total population of about 35,000, while Romania has 125 UHNWIs and a total population of around 20 million. After the top four places in Europe, the UHNWI populations become far more modest. Fourth placed France has 4,100 ultra rich individuals, fifth placed Italy less than 2,000, while Spain, Norway, the Netherlands and Russia have from around 1,500 UHNWIs down to 1,145. In places 10 through to 20 the total figure drops from around 1,000 to around 500. With the exception of the tiny Principalities such as Monaco and Lichtenstein, all the Western European countries are in the top 21. Regionally, Russia is the highest placed – in 9th with 1,145 UHNWIs. Turkey is 11th, Poland 13th, the Ukraine 19th, Hungary 22nd, Croatia 23rd and the Czech Republic 24th. Romania came out ahead of neighbors Serbia, Moldova and Bulgaria. At a global level, there was a 0.6 percent increase in the total number of UHNWIs to 187,380, but their combined wealth fell by 1.8 percent. North America still has the most ultra rich people – 65,290 and both the total number and their combined wealth (USD 8,890 billion) increased on last year. Europe is second placed, but recorded falls in the number of UHNWIs (down 1.9 percent to 53,440) and their combined wealth (USD 6,950 billion – a 2.7 percent fall). Third placed Asia also so falls in both the total number of UHNWIs and their combined wealth. The Middle East, Africa and Latin America all recorded increases in the total number of ultra rich people, but their total worth fell in all three regions. Oceania posted increases in the total and the combined wealth of UHNWIs. All figures come from the World Ultra Wealth Report 2012 – 2013, produced by consultancy firm Wealth-X. It is the company's second annual report, after its first was published last year. Wealth-X offers diligence, consultancy and training services, with a specialization in data on the ultra rich.