25 June 2021updated 04 Sep 2021 1:14pm

The number of millionaires surged alongside unemployment during the Covid-19 crisis

In the UK the total number of millionaires increased by 11 per cent in 2020 and has more than doubled since 2010.

A gold Ferrari sits outside Chanel on Sloane Street in London. (Photo By Getty Images)

The coronavirus crisis has caused joblessness to rise across the world. In the US the number in employment fell by 6 per cent between 2019 and 2020, the largest fall of any major world economy. In Britain employment fell by 2 per cent.

But, meanwhile, the number of millionaires surged last year. A study by Credit Suisse found that more than five million people became millionaires in 2020, despite – or is it because of? – the pandemic.

The number of millionaires surged alongside unemployment during the Covid crisis

Credit Suisse 2020 vs 2019 data for millionaires

In the UK the total number of millionaires increased by 12 per cent in 2020 and has more than doubled since 2010, while in Australia the number of millionaires has increased by more than 25 per cent. Credit Suisse also found that the world’s top 1 per cent now own 45.8 per cent of the world’s total wealth, a rise of 2.4 percentage points since 2019.