They are less numerous and their fortune has also (somewhat) melted. According to a study by the consulting firm Capgemini, the number of millionaires worldwide – 21.7 million people – fell by 3.3% in 2022. This calculation, published Thursday, takes into account individuals whose available money excluding principal residence exceeds one million dollars, At the same time and logically, the value of their accumulated wealth has also declined, with an estimated total wealth of $ 83,000 billion, a decrease of 3.6% compared to the previous year.

"This represents the biggest setback in a decade, due to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties," Capgemini said in its report, which assessed 71 countries and uses a statistical census system and a graphical representation called the Lorenz curve as a methodology.

War in Ukraine and rising interest rates

The outbreak of war in Ukraine and its consequences on the planet, as well as soaring inflation and rising central bank interest rates, have made 2022 a particularly difficult year economically.

Stock market indices fell sharply last year: the CAC40 index lost 9.5%, the Nasdaq in the United States plunged 33%, and the S&P 500 index, which brings together the 500 largest American companies, fell by 20%. "There is necessarily a correlation" between the evolution of stock market indices and that of fortunes because wealth is increasingly made up of financial assets, said Elias Ghanem, director of financial research at the Capgemini group, interviewed by AFP.



Some of the wealthiest themselves experienced a sharp slowdown in the growth of their possessions last year. This is the case of Bernard Arnault, boss of LVMH and first fortune in the world, Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook or the heiress of L'Oréal Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, according to the index of fortunes in real time of Forbes magazine.

Geographical disparities

In the details of the study, fortunes located in North America experienced the largest decline in value with -7.4%, followed by those located in Europe (-3.2%) and Asia-Pacific (-2.7%), according to the study.

Conversely, those in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East have grown, Capgemini notes, thanks to solid performances in the oil and gas sectors, whose prices have soared with the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West.

In January, Oxfam estimated in a report published at the opening of the Davos Forum that "economic inequality has reached extreme and dangerous levels" and the NGO had advocated for "abolishing" billionaires in the long term.

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