The rich and poor gap is widening in Vietnam.
According to a new report titled World Ultra Wealth Report 2018, which examines the global ultra-wealthy population, Vietnam is ranked third among the top 10 countries with the fastest-growing ultra-rich population, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%.
Bangladesh comes first at 17.3%, followed by China at 17.3%. The rest of the top countries includes Kenya, India, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.
From a broader perspective, Asia boasts the fastest growth among the ultra-high net worth population, with a 27% increase in ultra wealth. The Asia-Pacific region is predicted to have the strongest growth in the near future.
The research was conducted by Wealth-X, a multinational market research company. It defines an ultra-rich individual as one who possesses a net worth of more than US$30 million.
The report also found that the ultra-rich group remains heavily dominated by men: only 34,944 ultra-wealthy individuals are women, compared to 220,866 of men.
The growth of the ultra-rich population also implies a worrying trend, as the wealth gap in Vietnam is widening faster than ever. As a report in 2017 conducted by the non-profit organization Oxfam showed, the richest people, accounting for 10% of the population, has an income that is 1.74 times higher than the poorest 40%.
"In an hour, the richest Vietnamese can earn from their wealth almost 5,000 times more than what the poorest 10% of Vietnamese spend every day on their basic needs," adds the report.
[Photo via VnExpress]
