Bahrain ranks high in rich households
Manama, June 17, 2014
Bahrain is ranked sixth in the world for its percentage of millionaire households, according to a new study from a global management consulting firm.
In its latest Global Wealth report, US-based The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) revealed that 59 out of every 1,000 households in the country, or 5.9 per cent, belong to millionaires, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Only Qatar with 17.5 per cent, Switzerland with 12.7 per cent, Singapore with 10 per cent, Hong Kong with 9.6 per cent and Kuwait with nine per cent can boast a higher density of the ultra-rich.
The report also found that Bahrain was ranked 16th globally for the proportion of households with more than $100 million in private financial wealth.
"The highest density of millionaire households was in Qatar, followed by Switzerland and Singapore," said the study.
"The US had the largest number of billionaire households but the highest density of billionaire households was in Hong Kong, followed by Switzerland."
The growth of private wealth accelerated across most regions in 2013, according to the report, with an additional 2.6 million millionaire households created last year alone - meaning 1.1 per cent of all households everywhere belong to millionaires.
"Globally, the amount of wealth held privately rose by $19.3 trillion in 2013, nearly twice the increase of $10.7 trillion seen in 2012," said the study.
"Despite remaining tensions following the Arab Spring and the escalation of the conflict in Syria, private wealth in the Middle East and Africa region increased by 11.6 per cent to reach $5.2 trillion in 2013.
"Key drivers were generally high savings rates and continued strong nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth in oil-rich countries, such as Saudi Arabia (13.4 per cent), Kuwait (13.6 per cent), and the UAE (12.8 per cent)."
Other GCC member states featured in the BCG millionaire household density rankings include Oman in 10th place, where 3.7 per cent of homes belong to millionaires, the UAE in 12th with 3.3 per cent and Saudi Arabia at 13th with 3.1 per cent. - TradeArabia News Service
