Credit Suisse, the global investment and financial services company, reported that the number of Kuwaiti millionaires had exceeded 35,000 by the end of 2018. Based on growth figures, the number of millionaires is now predicted to reach 39,000 by the end of 2019.
The report shows that while seven individuals in the country were billionaires in US dollar terms, around 10 people had wealth between US$500 million and $1 billion; 90 had wealth between $100 million and $500 million and over 140 Kuwaitis had wealth $50 million and $100 million.
The increase in number of millionaires was attributed to capital growth of around 6.5 percent. The volume of wealth accumulated in the country increased by $15 billion to breach $300 billion in 2018, said the report. This growth in personal wealth of high-net-worth individuals came even as the country’s GDP witnessed a decline of 2.5 percent on the back of fall in oil prices and a weakening in the real estate market.