DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP):
THE INCREASING ease of becoming a millionaire became clear Tuesday, with the announcement that the ranks of world millionaires had swelled to 8.7 million last year - half a million more than the population of New York City.
The red-hot Middle East saw nearly 10 per cent growth in millionaires - the world's fastest rate - with record oil revenues and soaring stock markets pushing 300,000 people over the million-dollar mark, a study by Merrill Lynch and consultancy Capgemini found.
Worldwide, the number of millionaires has nearly doubled since Merrill Lynch found 4.5 million of them in 1996.
Last year's 6.5 per cent growth in millionaires slowed slightly over last year's 6.6 per cent, with the U.S. and Europe slowing most alongside their cooling economies.
10 PER CENT CLIMB
But the ranks of the ultra-rich - those worth more than US$30 million - climbed by more than 10 per cent to 85,400.
Merrill Lynch said the ultra-rich did better because they found "select pockets" of high-growth investments in Asia, Latin America and the Mideast, while most investors stuck with stodgy earnings in North America and Europe.
North America held a slight edge over Europe in the population of millionaires, with 2.9 million to Europe's 2.8 million. Asia counted 2.4 million, Latin America 300,000 and Africa 100,000.
The world's millionaires are increasingly branching out from their home countries, with 65 per cent paying attention to foreign markets and 30 per cent buying homes overseas, the study found.
