A new report shows that the world's richest individuals saw their wealth grow by almost 10% to $40.7 trillion last year.
The World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and consulting group Capgemini covers people with net assets - excluding their home - of at least $1m (€650,000).
The number of these people in the world rose by 6% last year to 10.1 million, with the biggest increases coming in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
But the number in Ireland fell from 21,000 to 20,000. The report said it expected Ireland's wealthy to continue to withdraw from property and to shift into assets which would protect them from inflation - such as commodities and bonds.
The number of wealthy people in India jumped by almost 23% last year, while in China the figure was up 20%. Brazil was next with 19% growth. The report said strong growth in stock markets of these countries was a big factor behind the increases.
It also found that the world's wealthy individuals shifted their assets into safer investments as turmoil gripped the financial markets in the latter half of 2007. Cash and bonds accounted for 44% of their financial assets last year, up nine percentage points from 2006.
Rich people in Europe and the Middle East were more likely to invest in 'green' initiatives such as wind and solar energy, with those in North America least likely to invest in this sector.
