Bengaluru Home to 98 Ultra-High Net-Worth Individuals: Knight Frank

Bengaluru is home to 98 Ultra-High Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWIs), a growth of 36% over the last five years. Each of these individuals has a wealth of Rs 225 crore ($30 million) or more. In 2013, the technology hub had 72 UHNWIs, according to The Wealth Report2019 published by to Knight Frank. The report provides global perspectives on prime property and wealth.

The 13th edition of The Wealth Report2019 forecast said Bengaluru is expected to see UHWNIs growth of 40 per cent in the next 5 years.

The report identifies top cities across the world that supports wealth creation including innovation indicators, wealth forecasts and economic growth and those aspects that improve a city’s growth prospects, such as infrastructure.

Termed ‘Future Cities’ of the world, these cities demonstrate characteristics that will propel wealth creation as well as future property investment. Leading this table is Bengaluru, which is expected to see a UHWNIs growth of 40 per cent in the next five years and is followed by Hangzhaou 732 UHWNIs, growth of 34 per cent. Stockholm 559 UHWNIs, growth 23 per cent. Cambridge 68 UHWNIs, growth 19 per cent and Boston 426 UHWNIs, growth 15 per cent.

Bengaluru Uniqueness

Bengaluru which is the home to companies which includes Flipkart, Infosys and Wipro, and over 400 multinationals including Microsoft, Hitachi and Samsung have bases.

“This is supported by the fact that the city has been grossing the country’s highest office absorption volume consecutively for the last 10 years and is expected to lead the office growth trend both in terms of investments as well as absorption,” said the Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report2019.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said “Bengaluru is the first amongst five eye-catching ‘cities of the future’ based on their future economic potential. This growth backed by its intrinsic potential arising from strong economic fundamentals, will also attract investments both from domestic as well as institutional sources.”

Bengaluru has made a commitment to creating a knowledge economy by investing in education centres, including the Indian Institute of Management-Bengaluru (IIMB), the Institute of Science (IISc) and the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). The city’s broad ecosystem of innovation offers multiple opportunities for future growth, reflected in the rise of new age technology companies across sectors including artificial intelligence, food tech, fintech and robotics.

Nicholas Holt, Head of Research, Knight Frank Asia Pacific, said, “Despite softening momentum in the region’s economies, growth prospects in Asia remain favourable in the medium term. While China’s economy is expected to slow, emerging markets such as India and the Philippines will deliver some of the strongest growth over the coming years.”