China's Capitalists

The number of rich Chinese has surpassed the count of wealthy Americans a study by Credit Suisse showed. 

The Swiss bank’s annual wealth survey released on Monday found 100 million Chinese ranked in the global top 10% as of the middle of this year versus 99 million in the United States. 

“Despite the trade tension between the United States and China over the past 12 months, both countries have fared strongly in wealth creation, contributing $3.8 trillion and $1.9 trillion respectively,” said Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, global head of economics and research at Credit Suisse CSGN.S. 

The ranks of the world’s millionaires have risen by 1.1 million to an estimated 46.8 million, collectively owning $158.3 trillion in net assets, 44% of the global total, the study found.

The report estimates that 55,920 adults are worth at least $100 million and 4,830 have net assets above $500 million. 

It forecast global wealth — which increased 2.6% over the past year — would rise by 27% over the next five years to $459 trillion by 2024. The number of millionaires would also grow over this period to almost 63 million. 

The share of the world’s bottom 90% accounts for 18% of global wealth.