The global UHNWI population totalled 392,410 individuals at the end of June 2022, down -6% compared to the end of 2021. This was a sharp turnaround compared to the +14% growth in the previous year and the first downturn in the number of UHNWI since 2018.
This break in trend was indisputably caused by the shock waves sent around the global economy by the war in Ukraine. After the historic highs of recent years, the combined net worth of UHNWI fell by -11% to $41,824 billion in mid-2022, wiping out much of the previous year's gains.
The global UHNWI population remains heavily dominated by men, with women representing barely 11%. However, the proportion of women has followed a gradual upward trend over the past five years, influenced by the evolution of global wealth distribution, changing cultural attitudes, growth in female entrepreneurship and intergenerational wealth transfers.
The proportion of self-made individuals continues to grow year on year among the UHNWI. Today, 76% of self-made men and 45% of self-made women have personally built their fortune. 19.5% of them inherited before reinforcing their fortune through prosperous businesses. Only 4.8% inherited their entire fortune.