Number of ultra-rich in Vietnam set to surge in next 5 years

While the number of ultra-rich people in Vietnam slightly went down in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is set to be among the world’s top five countries with the fastest growing rate of people with ultra-high net worth, according to 2021 Wealth Report by Knight Frank.

In order to be included in the 1% richest people in Vietnam, one needs to have assets worth at least US$160,000. Source: AutoPro

In 2020, the number of people with ultra-high net worth (over US$30 million) in Vietnam was estimated at 390, down from 405 recorded last year.

Meanwhile, the figure of high-net-worth individuals, someone with a net worth of over US$1 million including their primary residence, declined by 6% year-on-year from 20,645 to 19,491.

Knight Frank, however, expected Vietnam to have 511 individuals with a total net worth of over US$30 million by 2025, or an increase of 31%, as well as 25,812 with over US$1 million, up 32%.

As the Covid-19 pandemic caused severe economic impacts worldwide, countries around the world, including Germany, New Zealand, and Thailand, also witnessed a sharp drop in the number of ultra-rich people.

According to Knight Frank’s report, in order to be included in the 1% richest people in Vietnam, one needs to have assets worth at least US$160,000.

For Monaco, which has the world’s densest population of super-rich, the entry point for the principality’s branch of the 1% club is US$7.9 million.

In second place comes the home of the private bank, Switzerland, where US$5.1 million gains such access, followed by the US, which has the highest number of ultra-high net worth residents with US$4.4 million.

Singapore, in fourth place, is Asia’s highest entry, with the level of wealth required being US$2.9 million. The figures also vary for Vietnam’s neighboring countries, including China (US$850,000), Malaysia (US$540,000), the Philippines (US$60,000) and Indonesia (US$60,000).

With lower interest rates and more fiscal stimulus, asset prices have surged, driving the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNWI) population 2.4% higher over the past 12 months to more than 520,000.

The US is, and will remain, the world’s dominant wealth hub over the report’s forecast period, but Asia will see the fastest growth in UHNWIs over the next five years, at 39% compared with the 27% global average. By 2025, Asia will host 24% of all UHNWIs, up from 17% a decade earlier.

The region is already home to more billionaires than any other (36% of the global total), the report added.

The Chinese Mainland is the key to this phenomenon, with 246% forecast growth in very wealthy residents in the decade to 2025.