Wealth in India is oozing. The second most densely populated country in the world is also a country with most many millionaires. 61000 millionaires, 9 billionaires and 1 billion population are the most noticeable statistics of India. Merrill Lynch, a stockbroker and business-consulting firm along with CapGemini, a technology consultancy firm, recently reported “India is seeing a sharp increase in its number of wealthy individuals.”

With the stock market boom and the economy outgrowth in 2003, the country’s tryst with wealth is comeuppance. The proportion of millionaires’ cash invested in the stock market rose to 35% from 20% in 2002. But, its growth of 11000 millionaires a year that is $267 billion, from 2003 to 2004 is at a rapid pace and this is half of India’s gross domestic product of over $550 billion. However, researchers opine that the estimation of millionaires in India is underestimated.

In synonymous to this was the raise in the World’s Wealth of High-net-worth-individuals (HNWI) at 7.7 percent from 7.5 percent compared to previous year. HNWI are those with financial assets of one million or more, excluding their primary habitation. Americans occupied the first place in this rank-of-HNWI’s, up by 14 percent making it rich by 2.2 million wealthy citizens. India was up by 22 percent and China by 12 percent, all exceeding its last year’s ‘growth in wealth’.

Globally, the increase in millionaires was 7 million, though the increase in the number was modest at 7.5 percent. The total global wealth of all the HNWI’s put together was estimated at over $28.8 trillion and the cash pile is set to soar to $40.8 trillion by 2008.