Indian millionaires now number 1.5 lakh

The increase in India's HNI population has also helped Asia-Pacific overtake Europe as the region with the second highest number of millionaires, as per the annual World Wealth Report of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Capgemini.

"India's HNI population became the world's 12th largest in 2010, entering the top 12 for the first time," the report said.

At the same time, Indian millionaires also showed growing interest in investments like luxury collectibles (luxury cars, boats and jets), as also in sports, the annual survey found.

At the end of 2010, India's HNI population stood at 1,53,000, up more than 20 per cent from 1,26,700 in 2009, when India was ranked 14th.

The HNIs have been identified as those with investible assets of USD one million or more, excluding their primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables.

The report named the US as the country with the largest HNI population (31,04,000), followed by Japan, Germany, China, UK, France, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Brazil and India.

In Asia-Pacific, India has the highest number of millionaires after Japan, China and Australia. Among the top 12 countries globally, India's growth in HNI population was highest at 20.8 per cent.

The annual report said that the the world's HNIs expanded in both population and wealth in 2010, surpassing the 2007 pre-crisis levels in nearly every region.

The worldwide

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