The number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with assets of more than $30 million (£26.5m) – rose by 6% last year to 513,244, The Guardian reports citing a report by the property consultants Knight Frank.

That means there are more ultra-wealthy people around the world than the populations of Iceland, Malta or Belize.

The UHNWI population is expected to swell by a further 27% to 650,000 by 2024, the report estimates, as huge fortunes are being made in India, Egypt, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

Those with slightly more modest fortunes also increased. There are now 50m dollar millionaires (£770,000), up from 46.9m in 2019. That’s more than the population of Spain.

The overall numbers of UHNWI people in Knight Frank’s study sharply increased compared with its 2018 study, after the firm changed its methodology to include the value of individuals’ homes.