As of 2015, the 2,473 billionaires around the world hold a combined wealth of $7.7 trillion, making them a small but powerful population in the global economy.
According to Wealth-X?s Billionaire Census for 2015-2016, while those with $1 billion or more in assets collectively saw their wealth reach a record high, not all regions fared the same. As billionaires in Europe, Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean and Pacific saw their total wealth decline, North America, the Middle East and Asia proved to be the major growth engines among this ultra-affluent group.
“The UHNW market in general represents about 18-19 percent of all luxury purchases or about 1 in 5 dollars,” said David Friedman, co-founder of wealth intelligence firm Wealth-X, New York. “Billionaires represent the core of this group. “However, geopolitical and economic uncertainties are causing a pause as billionaires are holding about 22 percent of their net worth in liquid assets,” he said.
“While many observers would attribute this to this macro geopolitical risks, and it certainly is a factor, when you view it against the broader trends towards direct investments by family offices away from fund of funds, etc. This could also be interpreted as stockpiling ‘dry powder’ for the coming investment opportunities that are surfacing in the wake of global geopolitical and economic uncertainty.”
Mixed results

Asia,led by China and the Association of Southeast A...