Latin America, a region of some 600 million people, is home to nearly 15,000 “ultra high net worth” individuals, or people with fortunes of at least $30 million, according to luxury industry consultancy Wealth-X.

The number rose five per cent last year, while the number of billionaires rose to 151, a 38 per cent increase. That was the fastest growth rate for billionaires of any region on Earth.

According to market research firm Euromonitor, the Latin American luxury market will total $26,5 billion in 2019, up 88,8 per cent from 2014 – the strongest growth in the world.

“The main characteristic of inequality in Latin America is not that there are a lot of poor people, but that there are a few people who have a lot,” said Juan Pablo Jimenez, an economist at the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America.

Moreover, the latter “pay very low taxes, both in international terms and compared to what they are supposed to pay,” he said. “Taxes on wealth are very low in Latin America, and inheritance taxes are almost nonexistent.”

bbabo.Net