What It Takes To Be A Top 1% Earner Around The World (Net Worth)

The annual Knight Frank Wealth Report (2023 Edition) has published yet another breakdown of what it takes to be considered a top 1% earner around the world.

The most fascinating takeaways? 1. While it’s still a moonshot for most, the minimum threshold is surprisingly achievable here in Australia, and 2. the population of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) has actually shrunk.

“While the world’s UHNWI population contracted last year, the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) expanded by 2.9% to number almost 70 million worldwide,” explained the report.

RELATED: What It Takes To Be A Top 1% Earner Around The World (Annual Salary)

“Only Europe as a region saw HNWI numbers dwindle. The number of billionaires meanwhile declined by 5% to 2,629.”

That being said, the figure is projected to rebound.

Knight Frank added: “Over the next five years we forecast that the global UHNWI population will expand by 28.5% to almost threequarters of a million from 579,625 in 2022. This expansion marks a slowdown from the 44% growth seen in the 2017 to 2022 period. The number of HNWIs will also surpass 100 million over the next five years, growing by 56.9%.

Similar to previous years, Monaco has remained the most unobtainable with a minimum threshold of US$12.4 million (AU$19 million), followed not-so-closely by “the home of the private bank,” Switzerland, at US$6.6 million (AU$10.1 million), Australia at US$5.5 million (AU$8.5 million), New Zealand at US$5.2 million (AU$8 million), and so forth.

Check out the full breakdown of select countries + territories below.

RELATED: What Is The Average Salary In Australia?

Top 1% Earners (Global)

**All figures converted to USD

Net worth threshold comparison

1. Monaco: $12.4 million
2. Switzerland: $6.6 million
3. Australia: $5.5 million
4. New Zealand: $5.2 million
5. US: $5.1 million
6. Ireland: $4.3 million
7. Singapore: $3.5 million
8. France: $3.5 million
9. Hong Kong: $3.4 million
10. UK: $3.3 million
11. Italy: $2.6 million
12. Spain: $2.5 million
13. Japan: $1.7 million
14. UAE: $1.6 million
15. China: $960,000
16. Czech Republic: $880,000
17. Saudi Arabia: $740,000
18. Romania: $587,000
19. Malaysia: $485,000
20. Brazil: $433,000
21. Mexico: $383,000
22. India: $175,000
23. South Africa: $109,000
24. Philippines: $57,000
25. Kenya: $20,000

Additional insights

• The Middle East was a regional stand out with 16.9% UHNWI growth, buoyed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which saw stellar economic and property market performance
• Asia was home to three of the Top 10 fastest-growing wealth hubs, with Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore seeing their wealthy populations expand by 7-9%, this comes despite the wider region experiencing a 6.5% decline
• Among the Top 10 are the world’s two most populous countries, with India expected to see a 58.4% rise in its UHNWI population, a faster rate than in the previous five years; the Chinese mainland is forecast to see a 49.8% climb, a slowing from the 99.6%