India has fifth-most billionaires in the world, says study

India with a total of 122 billionaires (having net assets of at least Rs500 crore), is now in the fifth position among the top 10 countries with the largest number of billionaires, and the number is expected double by 2022, according to a global rich list prepared by property consultant Knight Frank.

In the Knight Frank Global Wealth Report 2013 - a perspective on prime property and wealth - Mumbai has secured the 7th spot in the list of top global cities, with a high net worth individual (HNWI) population of 2,105.

According to Samantak Das, director research and advisory services, Knight Frank India, the population of Mumbai's HNWIs (those with net assets of over Rs150 crore) is expected to touch 4,988 by 2022. Delhi, which ranks 11th in the list with a current HNWI population of 1,945, is also likely to have a rise in its multi-millionaire population, which may reach 4,278 by 2022.

According to the report, the jump in the population of billionaires is expected to give India the highest number of HNWIs in Asia by 2022, along with China and Japan, adding that the number of HNWIs is set to rise by 88 per cent over the next decade in Asia.

Global head of residential research at Knight Frank Liam Bailey said that there will be a rapid growth in the concentration of wealth in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, although he added that the largest concentration of wealth is currently based in the established centres of North America and Europe.

Bailey further said that although London and New York are still the most important destinations in the world, key Asian cities will have moved further up the list in a decade.