Stock Losses Cull Millionaire Ranks

Survey says U.S. has 100,000 fewer millionaires in 2002 despite increase in global wealth.

June 12, 2003

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Stock losses contributed heavily to a decline in the number of North American millionaires last year, even as the world's richest people are getting richer, according to a new report.

The survey, by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch, found that the United States had 100,000 fewer millionaires in 2002 than in 2001. Nevertheless, there are still 2 million people in the category.

The report defines millionaires as people with financial assets worth at least $1 million, excluding real estate.

Including Canada, the number of millionaires in North America declined 1.9 percent to 2.22 million. And their wealth as a group declined by $200 billion to $7.4 trillion. North America was the only region to experience a decline both in the number of millionaires and the value of their overall wealth.

The report attributes the bulk of the loss to stock market declines.

Overall, the wealth of millionaires across the world grew by 3.6 percent to $27.2 trillion, the study found. Nearly 200,000 more people made the cut in 2002, bringing the total number of millionaires to 7.3 million worldwide.

Of all the regions, Asia had the most significant growth both in terms of the number of millionaires (up about 5 percent) and millionaire assets (up 10.7 percent).

Worldwide, the number of "ultra" high net-worth individuals grew, as did their assets. The number of "ultra" HNWIs, defined as those individuals with more than $30 million in financial assets, rose 2 percent to 58,000 people, and their combined wealth grew an estimated 3.6 percent.  

http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/11/pf/millionaire/millionaires/index.htm?cnn=yes