The 24th June saw the release of the Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini 13th Annual World Wealth Report. As expected this showed a marked decrease in the wealth of the world’s richest individuals.

At the end of 2008 the global HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals) population dropped 15% from 10 million in 2007 to 8.6 million in 2008 and their wealth dropped 19.5% to $32.8 trillion. Ultra-HNWIs came off even worse, seeing a decrease in their wealth of a whopping 23.9%. As Capgemini says, “The declines were unprecedented, and wiped out two robust years of growth in 2006 and 2007.”

Specific regions continue to host large percentages of the total global HNWI population, namely North America, Asia, and Europe. The top 3 countries for HNWI population - U.S., Japan, and Germany - together accounted for 54 percent of the world's HNWI population in 2008, up slightly from 53.3 percent in 2007. China's HNWI population surpassed that of the U.K. to become the fourth largest in the world.

In Europe, France saw a 12.6% decrease in HNWIs whilst the figure was only 2.7% in Germany. In the Asia Pacific area, Japan had a decrease of 9.9% whilst the number of HNWIs in Hong Kong fell by a whopping 61.3% to a mere 37,000.

Just like the rest of us, HNWIs did take measures to protect their wealth and allocated more of their income to fixed-income investments, cash and liquid assets. They also increased their real-estate holdings by 4%.

“This year's World Wealth Report shows a distinct shift from our reports in recent years,” said Bertrand Lavayssière, Managing Director Global Financial Services, Capgemini. “After a year of significant volatility, we’re seeing a shift in HNWI activity and priorities. There are currently opportunities for wealth management firms and advisors to understand and effectively address increased client concerns by helping to navigate through the uncertain economic times and build relationships that will continue well into the future.”

So, what are the prospects for the future wealth of these individuals? Capgemini Merrill Lynch predicts that overall HNWI financial wealth will grow to $48.5 trillion (that’s a 50% increase on this year’s figures) by 2013, advancing by an annual rate of 8.1 percent. North America and the Asia-Pacific regions are predicted to lead in wealth growth, with Asia-Pacific surpassing North America by 2013. These regions will be spurred by increasing U.S. consumer spending and the extension of the autonomy of the Chinese economy, already sparking a new increase in consumer demand.

Do the predictions surprise you? Do you think that the Asia-Pacific region is set to surpass North America by 2013? And what does the future have in store for Europe’s HNWIs?