Wealth creation in recent years has been exposed to a sequence of continuing economic challenges. While it is too early to assess the impact of widespread inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war, wealth growth proved resilient in 2020 when COVID-19 caused major economic disruption, and the recovery during 2021 produced even more favorable conditions, according to Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report. By year-end, global wealth at prevailing exchange rates totaled $463.6 trillion, a gain of 9.8 percent. Wealth per adult rose 8.4 percent to $87,489. U.S. dollar appreciation depressed these rates by 2.9 percent. Setting aside exchange rate movements, aggregate global wealth grew by 12.7 percent in 2021, which is the fastest annual rate ever recorded.
The nations with high wealth per adult are concentrated in North America and western Europe, and among the richer parts of east Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East, with a sprinkling of outposts in the Caribbean. China and