There are now 110,000 dollar millionaires in Ireland thanks to rising house prices
The state had one of the largest gains in household worth worldwide in the past year, a new report says.
WE MAY JUST be back on our feet as a state, but an ever-growing number of people have more than a few bob in their pockets.
There are now 110,000 residents in Ireland with wealth above $1 million (€940,000), compared to 103,000 people just a year ago, according to the latest Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse.
There were more than 1.62 million people in the state with more than €100,000 to their names, the report added.
In 2016, the overall wealth of Irish households rose €35.7 billion to €725 billion, up 5% on 2015.
That rise was largely thanks to the rebound in house prices. With an increase in property prices of 15.4% for the year, the Republic joined Hungary, Turkey, Colombia and Sweden as one of only five countries where house prices rose at least 15%.
The overall growth in household wealth meant that Ireland had the sixth-largest percentage increase, behind Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic and Indonesia.
In the case of Japan, residents’ wealth benefited hugely from the appreciation of the yen as the figures were all calculated in US dollars. People living in the world’s third-largest economy gained nearly 20% in total household wealth in the past year, according to the report.
When it came to ultra-high net worth individuals – those with personal fortunes worth more than $50 million – the US dominates the list, ahead of China and the UK. Nearly 40% of the group live in the North American nation.
India is unique in coming 11th in the list of countries with ultra-rich residents, and also a high proportion of the poorest people on the planet. Some 80% of its population are in the lower half of the global wealth distribution – a higher proportion than in Africa as a whole.
Written by Darragh Peter Murphy and posted on TheJournal.ie
