Number of Millionaires Shrinking

While most people living paycheck to paycheck may find it hard to feel too sorry, the number of millionaires around the world has decreased significantly since last year. According to a report by a division of Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, the economic crisis has had a heavy impact on the world’s wealthiest people.
 
The decline from last year to this year represents the largest yearly decline in the number of millionaires in the history of the report, which began 13 years ago. The number of people that have between $1 million and $30 million has fallen 14.9 percent, now standing at 8.6 million. The number of people with more than $30 million has fallen by almost 25 percent, as has their combined wealth.
 
There are now 2.5 million millionaires in the United States, the number having fallen 18.5 percent from last year. The United States is still hosts the largest number of millionaires, though, followed by Japan and Germany. Millionaires throughout North America, Europe, and Asia were the hardest hit, while millionaires in Latin America did much better than the global average.

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