The number of wealthy individuals in the world saw a historic surge in 2020, overcoming the pandemic, as several sectors related to health prevention systems, software, e-commerce, telecommunications, online conferencing, and other activities benefited from market lockdowns and halted global travel. The annual report by Wealth-X revealed a 13.4% increase in the number of billionaires last year, hitting an all-time high, with the United States dominating the list.
In 2020, the total number of billionaires reached 3,204, an increase of 670 individuals, marking the largest annual rise since 2017, despite the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy. The total wealth grew by approximately 5.7% to $10 trillion in 2020.
The United States led the rankings, accounting for 29% of the total list and 37% of the cumulative wealth of billionaires in 2020. China ranked second in the number of billionaires with a 13% share, while Germany held a 5% share of the ranking. The number of billionaires in North America rose by about 17.5% to 980 individuals, representing 31% of the global share.
The cohort of individuals with average fortunes between $10 billion and $50 billion recorded the largest increase both in the number of individuals and in total net worth. Entrepreneurial billionaires in Russia hold a 96.4% share of the total number of wealthy individuals there, while their share in China is 92.9%, and in the U.S. it is 66.6%.
