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Tallying up the millionaires

"Come Mr. Tallyman, tally me bananas." And my Federal Reserve Notes, as well.

A report by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch shows the number of dollar millionaires increasing across the globe. There's a number of articles out on the subject today, many of them taking national slant (stories about Indian millionaires, stories of British and Swiss based millionaires).

Let me include this India focused article, since it includes a nice little world wealth graphic. By the way, the number of millionaires in the world is now 8.7 million. The correct number for US millionaires is shown in the graphic, 2.9 million.

On the increase in millionaires and "ultra rich" (characterized as those with $30 mil), the Chicago Tribune writes:

The number of millionaires has nearly doubled since 1996, though the 6.5 percent growth rate in millionaires last year slowed slightly from 6.6 percent in 2004.

But the ranks of the ultra-rich, those worth more than $30 million, climbed by more than 10 percent last year, to 85,400. Merrill Lynch said the ultra-rich did better because they found "select pockets" of high-growth investments in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

If you'd like to see all the various takes on the millionaire story, check the related stories at Google News. Personally, I'm wondering how many of these millionaires are floating up past the mark due to significant money supply expansion worldwide. Are the new millionaires and the "ultra-rich" outpacing inflation with their investments?

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