The net worth of a Romanian ranks last in Europe, is less than half of the average fortune in other CEE countries, and is up to 40 times lower than in the world's wealthiest nations, a recent report revealed. But Romanians seem to be just above the two thirds of the world with a net worth below USD 10,000 per individual. Meanwhile, 32 million people in the world account for almost half its wealth.

A Romanian has an average of wealth of USD 11,191, down 9.7 percent on 2012, and much below the peak of USD 17,570 in 2007. A recent report issued by Swiss bank Credit Suisse on the wealth of countries around the globe shows Romania ranks last in the EU on individual wealth, even below neighbor Bulgaria, and at about a quarter of the average wealth per individual in the world. Averaged per Romanian adult, the wealth is slightly higher – USD 14,000 mid-2013, compared to USD 12,000 mid-212. This number however includes more than money. When it comes to the financial wealth, a Romanian adult had, on average, about USD 5,600 mid-2013, down on USD 6,400 mid-last year. Meanwhile, the debt went a bit up: USD 2,900 per Romanian adult, USD 400 more than last year.

The biggest net fortunes per inhabitant are to be found in Switzerland and Australia, both around 40 times higher than Romania's: USD 512,000 for Switzerland, and 402,000 for Australia,

The net worth in Romania was much lower than in the region too. The average wealth per inhabitant is two times higher in Hungary, and the same goes for Poland. In the Czech Republic, the individual wealth was calculated at some USD 36,000.

In Romania, around 10,600 people have over USD 1 million in wealth each, but only a Romanian is a billionaire in dollars, according to the report. For comparison, there are twice as many millionaires in the Czech Republic. About 9,400 Romanians have wealth between USD 1 and 5 million, while 721 have up to USD 10 million. A group of 406 have a fortune of up to USD 50 million, while 31 have up to USD 100 million. A select group of 17 have fortunes up to USD 500 million. Only one person has up to USD 1 billion, and another one exceeds this threshold.

Romania's move up the fortune ladder was quick. In 2000, when the country had about 22 million inhabitants, the fortune per inhabitant was of USD 2,800, our of which the financial wealth was USD 766, and the debt, just USD 60. Both the fortune and the debt went up quickly during the 2000s, to reach its peak in 2007.

Neighbor Bulgaria came second to last in the report, with a wealth of USD 13,700 per inhabitant. The local currency played a role in the calculation of the fortune. The Bulgarian Leva has a fixed exchange rate, while Romania's currency the RON is floating.

In Europe, the total fortune of nations went up by 7.7 percent in the last 12 months, to some USD 76 trillion, while in North America, the fortune reached USD 78 trillion, a growth of 12 percent, making it the wealthiest region in the world. Asia Pacific went down 3.7 percent, to some USD 74 trillion, mainly because of the 20 percent drop in Japan, where the Yen massively depreciated. Worldwide, the global fortune was up 4.9 percent, to some USD 241 trillion, according to Credit Suisse, an all-time high five years after the crisis, and more than double on 2000.

Taken together, the bottom half of the global population own less than 1 percent of total wealth. In sharp contrast, the richest 10 percent hold 86 percent of the world’s wealth, and the top 1 percent alone account for 46 percent of global assets.

“Strong economic growth and rising population levels in emerging nations are important drivers of this trend. Average wealth per adult has also hit a new peak of 51,600 US dollars, but inequality remains high,” according to the bank.

An American has a wealth of USD 220,000, and a debt of USD 56,000, while in Germany, the individual fortune is at USD 157,000, and the debt, at USD 30,000. The US tops the charts for the number of millionaires and billionaires. With 13.2 million rich Americans in total, the country has 326 billionaires, and 696 with fortunes between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion.

What's next for the global wealth, a few more years away from the crisis? “We expect global wealth to rise by nearly 40 percent over the next five years, reaching USD 334 trillion by 2018. Emerging markets are responsible for 29 percent of that growth. China will account for nearly 50 percent of the increase in emerging economies’ wealth. Wealth growth will primarily be driven by growth in the middle segment, but the number of millionaires will also rise markedly over the next five years,” writes the report.

To determine how global wealth is distributed across households and individuals – rather than regions or countries – Credit Suisse combines its data on the level of household wealth across countries with information on the pattern of wealth distribution within countries. “Our estimates for mid-2013 indicate that once debts have been subtracted, an adult requires just USD 4,000 dollars in assets to be in the wealthiest half of world citizens. However, a person needs at least USD 75,000 dollars to be a member of the top 10 percent of global wealth holders,” according to the bank.

At the other end of the scale are countries like Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Liberia, with a wealth per inhabitant between USD 300 and 800.

The full report can be found here, and its databook, here.

editor@romania-insider.com