14% Of Ultra-Wealthy Indians Derives Wealth From Their Salaries

Knight Frank, an international property consultant in their recent Attitudes Survey 2021 observed that 14% of the country’s ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs US$30million +) are from salaried employee segment. This makes India the 4^th highest contributor in the Asia Pacific for salaried employees in the ultra-wealthy club. According to the survey, the vast majority, about 56% of Indian’s, derive most of their wealth through their own businesses. Indians who derive their wealth through salaries or receive dividends from their investment portfolio share the second spot, contributing 14% each to India’s UHNWIs club.

In the APAC region, Singapore has the highest population of salaried UHNWIs with 31% of the ultra-wealthy being employees, followed by the Philippines (18%), Chinese Mainland (16%), India (14%) and Hong Kong (13%). Globally too, Singapore maintains its lead, followed by South Africa (28%), Russia (25%), Canada (22%) and Switzerland (22%).

Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India said, “The rise in the number of salaried employees, who now occupy space in the UHNWI list in India can be largely attributed to the growth of India as a key regional and global economy. With India being a key market for most countries, we have seen the presence of most major conglomerates in India. Significantly, Indian are strong contenders of key executive positions worldwide due to high quality of manpower which is leading to the rise of the salaried segment as UHNWI. We expect that the phenomenon will continue to grow, as businesses seek to improve their efficiency; there would be a growth in high paying specialized jobs which will help them to contribute more to the club.”