Asia Pacific's population of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI, defined as those with more than $1m available to invest with) grew by 9.7% to 3.3 million during 2010, overtaking Europe for the first time.
According to the 2011 Asia Pacific Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, together with consulting group Capgemini, total HNWI wealth rose by 12.1% to $10,800bn, compared with $10,200bn in Europe.