There have never been more rich and their fortunes have never been greater, thanks to a surge in stock prices, according to international research by consultancy Capgemini and released today.

The number of rich people in the world, who are defined by Capgemini as people whose available money other than their primary residence exceed one million dollars, grew in one year by 5.1%, and reached 22.8 million people in 2023, the office calculated in its study entitled “World Wealth Report”.

Their wealth increased also and is calculated in total at $86.8 trillion, record that is 4.7% increase compared to the previous year.

These are two records, both in terms of the number of these individuals and the amount of their wealth, since 1997 when Capgemini began publishing this annual survey.

The growth of this wealth was mainly made possible by the rise of stock markets around the world: the US Nasdaq index registered a 43% increase and the S&P 500 24% in 2023, while in Paris the CAC 40 index increased by 16% and the DAX in Frankfurt by 20%.

“Equities jumped along with the technology market, fueled by excitement about creative artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the economy,” the bureau said in the study, which assessed 71 countries and uses as methodology a statistical inventory system and a graphical representation called the Lorenz curve.

In 2022, the wealthiest people saw their wealth fall the most in a decade, this time due to a rally in stock prices.

North America saw the strongest growth last year in the number of millionaires, which grew by 7.1%, as well as their wealth (+7.2%), more than in Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The height of wealth and the parallel rise in inequality have in recent years sparked much debate about how best the wealthiest could contribute to taxation.

In the Group of Twenty (G20), Brazil and France are pushing for a global minimum tax on the biggest fortunes, which could bring in an extra $250 billion if the world’s 3,000 billionaires paid at least the equivalent of 2% of wealth them in income taxes, one of the scenarios being discussed.