Greece Has 63,000 Millionaires and Rising

Greece’s population of millionaires is set to grow. The findings were published in the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2022.

The report tracks several factors associated with wealth on an international scale. Rory Penn, the head of Knight Frank’s Private Office noted: “Notwithstanding uncertain times,
we have still seen substantial wealth creation globally with the number of people with net wealth of $30 million or more increasing by almost 10 [percent] last year.”

Findings

The report tracked the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in each country. In this case, a HNWI is defined as someone with a net worth of (USD) $1 million or more, including the value of their primary residence.

In 2016, there were 48,647 millionaires living in Greece. This number shot up to 57,988 in 2020 and continued to rise up to 63,637 in 2021. Between 2016 and 2021, there was a 31 percent increase in the number of millionaires in Greece.

That upward trend is projected to continue. The projected population for this wealthy bracket is expected to reach 94,780 by 2026. This would represent a growth of 49 percent between 2021 and 2026.

The report also tracked what it called ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI). UHNWIs are defined as people with a net worth of $30 million or more when including their primary residence.

In 2016, there were 381 individuals who qualified as UHNWIs. By 2020, this number had risen to 453, and by 2021, it was 484. Between 2016 and 2021, there was a growth of 27 percent in the population of ultra-wealthy individuals living in Greece.

As with HNWIs, the number of UHNWIs is predicted to grow. By 2026, the report projects that there will be 617 ultra-wealthy people living in Greece. This represents an increase of 27 percent between 2021 and 2026.

Greece’s population of rich residents may be further bolstered this year by an exodus of the wealthy from around the world, due to economic and political instability. About 1,200 millionaires were projected to move to Greece earlier this year.

Greece’s Billionaires

This year, four Greek billionaires were listed on the Forbes list of wealthiest people in the world. These were Vardis Vardinogiannis, Filippos Niarchos, Aristotelis Mistakidis, and Vicky Safra.

Vicky Safra is the world’s richest Greek and was ranked as the 321st richest person globally by Forbes. She is the widow of banker Joseph Safra and inherited her late husband’s fortune after he passed away in 2020. Safra has a net worth of $7.2 billion. She is currently responsible for running the Vicky and Joseph Safra Philanthropic Foundation, which donates to hospitals, education, and the arts.

The other Greek billionaires on the list mostly made their fortunes in natural resources and shipping.

Aristotelis Mistakidis has a net worth of $3.6 billion. He was the former head of Glencore, one of the largest copper multinationals in the world. In 2018, he stepped down from the position but retains a three percent share in the company. He also owns a stake in Piraeus Bank.

Filippos Niarchos is the eldest son of the late shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos. He has a net worth of $2.8 billion and runs the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) with his younger brother Spyros. The SNF is one of the world’s largest international private philanthropies.

The fourth richest Greek is Vardis Vardinogiannis and his family. Vardinogiannis has a net worth of $1.4 billion and made his fortune primarily in the oil industry. He is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Motor Oil Hellas, Vegas Oil & Gas. Vardinogiannis is also involved in numerous other shipping and business interests.