Singapore's billionaire population down 11.4% in 2018 amidst equities rout

High-net worth wealth also fell 8.8% to US$84b.

The number of billionaires in Singapore fell 11.4% to 39 in 2018 in what marks the biggest decline across leading cities as a negative equity performance scared away the ultra-rich, according to Wealth-X 2019 Census Report. Billionaire wealth in the city also fell 8.8% to US$84b. 

Also read: Ng brothers are Singapore's richest in 2018

The latest reading puts Singapore as the seventh leading city for billionaires, trailing behind New York which held the top spot with 105 billionaires calling the city home followed by Hong Kong with 87 billionaires. San Francisco, Moscow, London and Beijing round out the top six with 75, 70, 65 and 55 billionaires each.

In the country rankings, Singapore occupied the 15th spot. The US, China and Germany hold the recognition as the top three billionaire countries. Close regional competitor Hong Kong nab seventh spot followed by India at eight place.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, the billionaire population fell 13.4% and combined wealth dropped 8.7% amidst heavy declines in Singapore, India and China. The total number of Asian billionaires (677) fell back below that of North America (750) and combined wealth declined by 8.5%, slightly more than the world average, with Asia’s share of global billionaire wealth edging down to 26%.

Also read: Nearly one in five of the world's billionaires are crazy rich Chinese entrepreneurs

“China’s tariff conflict with the US was a major factor, weighing on demand, sentiment and returns across Asia, which were compounded by a cyclical slowdown in growth, capital outflows, a lending clampdown in China’s banking sector and currency weakness against the US dollar. This deteriorating economic environment more than offset support for wealth creation from ongoing policy reforms and higher infrastructure spending, underlining the importance of asset and currency markets to the development of billionaire wealth” the firm said in a report.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region recorded a slower rate of decline in billionaire numbers (-4.6%) than Asia. Europe also witnessed a 7% decline in combined billionaire amidst unpredictable Brexit negotiations. The number of billionaires also fell 7.9% in the Middle East and combined wealth fell 6.5%.

The Americas fared better than the other three regions as the number of billionaires rose slightly by 3.7%, with the US cementing its position as the world’s dominant billionaire country and offsetting declines in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.