Vietnam emerges as rising hub for wealth creation

The recent Wealth Report 2026, the 20^th-anniversary edition of Knight Frank's flagship publication, shows that the number of wealthy individuals worldwide has continued to grow rapidly over the past five years despite an increasingly volatile global environment.

Knight Frank is a London-based global real estate consultancy known for its property market research, investment advisory and wealth-related reports, including The Wealth Report.

Between 2021 and 2026, the global population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with net assets exceeding $30 million – rose from 551,435 to 713,626. This means the world added more than 162,000 ultra-wealthy individuals in just five years, equivalent to an average of around 89 people crossing the $30 million wealth threshold every day.

The rapid growth of Vietnam's ultra-high-net-worth population is fueling demand for high-end assets and luxury services

North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe continue to dominate the global wealth landscape.

The United States remains the world's largest wealth creator, supported by sustained growth in its ultra-wealthy population.

Over the past five years, newly created UHNWIs in the US accounted for 41 per cent of all new UHNWIs globally. As a result, the country's share of the global UHNWI population increased steadily from 33 per cent in 2021 to 35 per cent in 2026.

The report also identifies Vietnam as one of the fastest-growing markets for ultra-wealthy individuals worldwide.

Although Vietnam's UHNWI population remains relatively modest by global standards – estimated at 1,233 individuals in 2026 – Knight Frank places the country among the top five markets expected to record the strongest growth in ultra-wealthy individuals over the next five years.

Specifically, Knight Frank said future growth in the UHNWI segment will not be driven solely by familiar names such as the US, China or long-established financial centres, but increasingly by rapidly maturing economies including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Poland and Vietnam.

Knight Frank forecasts that Indonesia will lead the world in UHNWI growth over the next five years, with an increase of 82 per cent. Saudi Arabia and Poland are projected to rank second, both with growth of 63 per cent, followed by Vietnam and Australia at 59 per cent.

ASEAN features prominently among the fastest-growing markets for ultra-wealthy individuals. Besides Vietnam's projected growth of 59 per cent, the Philippines is expected to record growth of 49 per cent, Singapore 46 per cent and Thailand 26 per cent.

Knight Frank's data show that Vietnam had 954 individuals with net assets exceeding $30 million in 2021. By 2026, the figure had risen to 1,233, representing growth of 29.2 per cent over five years.

If the country's ultra-wealthy population expands by the projected 59 per cent during the next five-year period, Vietnam would have approximately 1,960 individuals with net assets of at least $30 million by 2031, equivalent to a combined wealth of roughly $790 billion.

A report by SHS Securities found that wealthy Vietnamese investors tend to favour holding tangible assets – primarily real estate and gold – over income-generating financial assets.

According to SHS analysts, the investment behaviour of many Vietnamese, including affluent individuals, remains strongly influenced by a cultural preference for physical assets.

As a result, real estate and gold have long been regarded as preferred stores of value. This trend has remained largely unchanged over the past five years, with most investors continuing to focus on just two or three traditional asset classes, including land, gold and bank deposits, rather than building more diversified portfolios.

It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the total wealth of ultra-high-net-worth individuals is held in real estate assets.

On average, ultra-wealthy individuals in Asia and Vietnam own 3.3 residential properties, higher than the global average of 2.9. Real estate is widely viewed as a hedge against inflation and a store of value during periods of rising prices. At the same time, Vietnamese households continue to accumulate substantial holdings of gold.

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Vietnam's posts 2.4 per cent rise in ultra-wealthy individuals The number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with assets of more than $30m – rose by 2.4 per cent in Vietnam last year, according to the Wealth Report 2024 compiled by property consultants Knight Frank.