With a Median Wealth of $219,505, Australians Are the Richest People in the World

Based on the estimated median wealth of $219,505, according to the Credit Suisse 2013 Global Wealth Report released on Wednesday, Australians are the richest people in the world.

The concept of media wealth means that half of the people in a country have that amount of money, while the remaining half have less than that amount.

If it were based on average wealth, then Aussies are only the second richest in the world with an average wealth of $402,578. The richest are Swiss whose average wealth is $513,000.

David McDonald, chief investment strategist for Australia of Credit Suisse, said that the household wealth for every adult Aussie actually increased by 2.6 per cent in the last 12 months. While it is slower than the global average of 4.6 per cent, nevertheless, Australia has the best wealth distribution system among developed nations.

One proof of that is the number of Australian millionaires went up by 38,000 to 1.123 million. About 50 per cent of them moved up the wealth ladder because of exchange rate appreciation.

However, in terms of number of millionaires, the U.S. has the largest number with 13.2 million people have seven-digit wealth, of which 46,000 are considered ultra-high millionaires based on a net worth of $50 million or more.

In contrast, Australia has only 2,059 ultra-high net worth individuals.

North America outpaced Asia Pacific and Europe for the first time since the global financial crisis due to rising house prices and stock market that caused a 12 per cent increase in North American wealth to $78.9 trillion from mid-2012 to mid-2013.

Commenting on this development, Giles Keating, global head of research for private banking of Credit Suisse, explained, "The fourth annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report shows an #US11 trillion rise in (global: wealth to $US241 trillion, with the US as the clear winner, overtaking Europe, while Asia Pacific fell back due to sharp depreciation of the yen."