The saga of the super rich

Tsk, tsk! What a plight? A few million dollars less to fun and frolic? Now that would seriously dent many a rich lifestyles…. Well, that is the sardonic reaction one cannot help but have when one reads this news report - World Ultra Wealth Report 2013 from UBS AG and Wealth-X. The report tracks the number and total wealth of individuals with a net worth of over $30 million.

As per this report, India’s billionaire club saw its numbers shrink by 5%,  losing six members to become 103 last year.  Other emerging economies such as Brazil, China, and South Africa also saw their ultra-rich population lose a few members and a chunk of their wealth. The biggest shrinkage was in Brazil, with a double-digit decline in their numbers and fortunes, shedding about $95 billion in wealth. And all this can be blamed on one man - Eike Batista. He was earlier named by Forbes as the seventh richest in the world but his oil and gas company slid into bankruptcy. China saw a 5% decline in its super rich and in this $30 million-and-above club, South Africa lost 10 members though the super rich in Nigeria grew and if the same trend continues, Nigeria might very well soon topple South Africa as the richest African nation.

And to think that we Indians, majority of us worry about a shrinkage in our monthly savings by a few thousand rupee….