Asia Passes Europe in Number of Millionaires

Asia and the Pacific have passed Europe in the number of people worth more than $1 million excluding their homes, according to the World Wealth Report published by Merrill Lynch Wednesday.

The number of Asian millionaires reached 3.3 million in 2010, more than Europe’s 3.1 million but slightly less than North America’s 3.4 million.

The number of Asian millionaires jumped 9.7 percent from 3 million in 2009, faster than the 6.3 percent rise in Europe. The combined wealth of Asian millionaires totaled $10.8 trillion to Europe’s $10.2 trillion and America’s $11.6 trillion. It won’t be long before Asia overtakes North America as well, said Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management.

Worldwide, 10.9 million millionaires are worth a combined $42.7 trillion. The U.S., Japan and Germany accounted for just over half the world’s wealthy, followed by China with 535,000 millionaires. India moved into the top 12 for the first time in 2010.

The number of the world’s super-rich — those worth more than $30 million — jumped 10 percent last year to a total of 103,000, suggesting a widening wealth gap with people of average means.