Revealed: Where every resident has $1.6 million

Dubai: Known as the super-yacht capital in the world, Monaco has been named as the world’s richest country in terms of the amount of fortunes held by residents.

The latest report released on Tuesday by New World Wealth showed that as of December 2016, the average person in the country has $1.7 million held in cash, equity, property and other assets, much higher than those in other wealth havens like Switzerland Australia or the United States.

The high average wealth of people living in Monaco reflects the country’s tax haven status, as people living there are not obliged to pay an income tax.

The country has a high proportion of ultra-rich, given that out of the 40,000 residents that have $10 million in their bank accounts and portfolios, 2,400 are considered multi-millionaires – those who have more than $10 million.

“It is a hotspot for super-yacht owners and one of the most popular yacht docking spots in the Mediterranean. [But} Monaco apartments are the most expensive in the world per square metre,” New World Wealth said.

In terms of the total wealth held by all residents, however, populated countries are standing out.  The report showed that Indians are climbing in the list of wealthiest countries in the world, with combined individual fortunes reaching $6.2 trillion in 2016, up by 12 per cent from a year earlier.

India was the sixth richest nation in terms of total wealth as of December 2016, up from the sixth spot in 2015. The country of 1.2 billion people has just overtaken Italy on the richest list over the past year.

 “Total wealth held in India grew strongly over the past year,” New World Wealth said.

The United States remained the richest country in the world, with total wealth held hitting $51 trillion in 2016, much larger than the fortunes owned by the Chinese which occupied the second spot at $19 trillion, and the Japanese in the third position at $16 trillion.

British and German citizens are now considered the world’s fourth and sixth richest, respectively. France, Canada, Australia and Italy also made it to the top ten.

Besides India, other countries like China and Australia have also been accumulating significant wealth, while the total fortunes held by residents in France and Italy declined significantly.