Taiwan was ranked 15th in a report on ultra-rich people by nation last year, with the number up 26 percent from the previous year, property market consulting firm REPro Knight Frank said.
The number of individuals with US$50 million or more in net assets, defined as ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), in Taiwan was 2,010, up 420 or 26 percent from 2016, the consulting firm said on Friday.
Taiwan’s growth rate was the third-highest in the world, trailing only Brazil’s 28 percent and Russia’s 27 percent, it said.
Taiwan ranked sixth in Asia in the number of ultra-rich people, after Japan (9,960), China (8,800), Hong Kong (5,140), India (2,920) and South Korea (2,610), it added.
The growth in ultra-rich people in Taiwan partly reflects a booming equity market, while the listed companies were doling out large cash dividends to shareholders and the major market players were the largest beneficiaries and becoming even richer, REPro Knight Frank market research executive Andy Huang (黃舒衛) said.
Worldwide, the number of ultra-rich individuals totaled about 129,700 last year, up 10 percent year-on-year and marking the highest growth in five years, REPro Knight Frank said.
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