The increase, up 44,000 on last year, has been attributed to the continued rise in house prices throughout the country, with nearly half of all millionaires living in the most expensive regions, London and the South East.
Dena Brumpton, chief executive of wealth and investments at Barclays, said a millionaire is defined as an individual worth more than £1 million, net of liabilities, factoring in all investable assets including cash, savings, equities, mutual funds, fixed income, pensions and property.
She said rising house prices have the potential to make millionaires of those who have a house worth £1 million or more – but only if they’ve paid off their mortgage.
“It’s interesting to see that the regions that have seen the greatest advance in millionaire numbers, namely the East Midlands and South West, have both seen healthy uplifts in property prices. The regions that have seen lower growth in millionaire numbers – for example, London – have typically experienced slower house price growth over the same period.”
Nevertheless, London, where the average house price is £482,000, remains the most prosperous, with 165,000 millionaires living in the capital (26.4 per cent).
Cities are outpacing their wider regions in terms of prosperity. Almost every city has enjoyed bigger house price growth than the capital’s three per cent increase, with Birmingham proving a particular hot spot.
The South East, where the average house price is £320,000, has the highest number of millionaires after London, with 130,000 (20.8 per cent) living there and house price growth of five per cent.
The North East is at the other end of the scale, with just 12,000 millionaires (1.9 per cent), but the average house price in the area is £130,000 and house price growth is at four per cent.
