In 2018, for the first time in history, more of the world’s wealthiest people lived in China than the United States.
Out of the hundreds of millions of people that make up the wealthiest 10% of people on the planet in 2018, 100 million lived in China and 99 million lived in the United States.
The global top 10% have net worths above $109,400 Credit Suisse found. That group owns 82% of the world’s wealth. “Wealth in China started the century from a lower base, but grew at a much faster pace during the early years,” Credit Suisse said in the report. “It was one of the few countries to avoid the impact of the global financial crisis. China’s progress has enabled it to replace Europe as the principal source of global wealth growth and to replace Japan as the country with the second-largest number of millionaires.”