A rapid shift in the center of economic gravity
will create the world’s four wealthiest populations in Asia, according
to a Citi 2012 Private Wealth report. Only the US will remain in the
top five among non-Asian nations.
Singapore already has the world’s highest per capita income on a purchasing power parity (PPP)
basis at $56,532, according to Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth’s
2012 Wealth Report. It is followed by Norway at $51,226, the U.S.
($45,511), Hong Kong ($45,301) and Switzerland ($42,470).
By 2050 the rapid shift in wealth will have changed the complexion at the top. Singapore will remain on top with a per capita income on a PPP basis of $137,710, followed by Hong Kong ($116,639), Taiwan ($114,093) and South Korea ($107,752).
The US is projected to slip to fifth place with a per capita income of $100,802.
But not all of Asia will be among the world’s wealthiest. Japan — which is struggling with an aging economy and a moribund political system that suppresses change and growth— will have the weakest growth of all the world’s economies. By 2050 it will have slipped into the middle ranks of the world’s economies, along with Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
The Asian economies slated to see the fastest growth are the emerging nations of India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka. The only non-Asian nations in the top-10 in projected growth over the next 40 years are Nigeria, Iraq and Egypt.
The massive shift of wealth toward Asia and its inevitable consequences have prompted some noted super-rich people to make the shift themselves, according to a recent CNN article.
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin moved to Singapore in 2009 has since renounced his U.S. citizenship. Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros, also moved there in 2007.
“I have moved to Asia and my girls speak Mandarin, speak perfect Mandarin,” Rogers told CNN. “I’m preparing them for the 21st century by knowing Asia and by speaking perfect Mandarin.
“It’s easier to get rich in Asia than it is in America now. The wind is in your face. [The US] is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. The largest creditor nations in the world are China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore. The assets are in Asia. You know who the debtors are and where they are. Look at Greece. Look at Spain. I mean, I don’t like saying this. You know, I’m an American, too. But facts are facts.”
If the global economic center of gravity could be placed in the middle of the Atlantic in 1980 and somewhere in northern California today, by 2050 it is likely to be somewhere in East Asia if measured by the wealth of citizens.
By 2050 the rapid shift in wealth will have changed the complexion at the top. Singapore will remain on top with a per capita income on a PPP basis of $137,710, followed by Hong Kong ($116,639), Taiwan ($114,093) and South Korea ($107,752).
The US is projected to slip to fifth place with a per capita income of $100,802.
But not all of Asia will be among the world’s wealthiest. Japan — which is struggling with an aging economy and a moribund political system that suppresses change and growth— will have the weakest growth of all the world’s economies. By 2050 it will have slipped into the middle ranks of the world’s economies, along with Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
The Asian economies slated to see the fastest growth are the emerging nations of India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka. The only non-Asian nations in the top-10 in projected growth over the next 40 years are Nigeria, Iraq and Egypt.
The massive shift of wealth toward Asia and its inevitable consequences have prompted some noted super-rich people to make the shift themselves, according to a recent CNN article.
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin moved to Singapore in 2009 has since renounced his U.S. citizenship. Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros, also moved there in 2007.
“I have moved to Asia and my girls speak Mandarin, speak perfect Mandarin,” Rogers told CNN. “I’m preparing them for the 21st century by knowing Asia and by speaking perfect Mandarin.
“It’s easier to get rich in Asia than it is in America now. The wind is in your face. [The US] is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. The largest creditor nations in the world are China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore. The assets are in Asia. You know who the debtors are and where they are. Look at Greece. Look at Spain. I mean, I don’t like saying this. You know, I’m an American, too. But facts are facts.”
If the global economic center of gravity could be placed in the middle of the Atlantic in 1980 and somewhere in northern California today, by 2050 it is likely to be somewhere in East Asia if measured by the wealth of citizens.
