High-net-worth collectors - statistics & facts

High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are categories used in the financial industry to define people with liquid assets – i.e. cash or other possessions whose value is not volatile, such as bonds – above one million and 30 million U.S. dollars, respectively. Even though assets like art and antiques, classic cars, or rare bottles of spirits are excluded from the calculation of net worth, they are of great interest among wealthy consumers, representing one of the main investments of high-net-worth individuals. While the interest in such assets, defined by estate agency and property consultancy Knight Frank as “investments of passion”, can vary significantly across different regions, fine art is one of the most sought-after categories. For instance, in a 2023 global study on ultra-high-net-worth individuals, art was the most popular investment of passion in the Americas, ahead of wine. Works of art also topped the ranking of investments of passion in Europe, but watches followed as the second-leading category in that case.

Fine art and NFT collectors

Considering the broad definition of fine art, ranging from sculpture to photography or videos, it is interesting to examine which media HNWIs prefer to acquire. Based on a November 2022 survey, traditional media (paintings, works on paper, and sculptures) accounted for nearly half of the works held by HNW art collectors worldwide in the first half of that year. By contrast, digital art linked to a non-fungible token (NFT) represented less than ten percent of artworks. The interest in NFTs, however, varied significantly based on the market, with the share of HNW art collectors planning to buy NFTs reaching as high as 65 percent in Brazil and just 33 percent in Singapore. Meanwhile, when looking at the leading channels used by HNW collectors to purchase art and antiques, art dealers emerged as the preferred choice, followed by auctions and art fairs.

What investment of passion is recording the highest price increase?

Price indices measure the increase or decrease in the price of selected goods over a specific time frame. According to the Fancy Color Diamond Index, tracking changes in the wholesale buying price of fancy color diamonds worldwide, yellow fancy color diamonds recorded the highest price rise in the market from the first to the fourth quarter of 2022. On the other hand, the price indices of historic cars worldwide by the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) showed a 15 percent price drop in the rare Ferrari automobile market in June 2023 compared to the previous year. Overall, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index – which tracks the performance of selected collectible assets by relying on third-party indices, like the two mentioned above – rare whisky bottles reported the highest 10-year price change among investments of passions worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2022.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Number of ultra-high-net worth individuals in the United States
128k
Country with the most billionaires worldwide
China
Share of UHNWI wealth managers who believed that art is becoming a more popular investment of passion in Europe
53%
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Share of works held in collections of high net worth (HNW) art collectors worldwide in 1st half 2023, by medium

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Share of works held in HNW art collections globally H1 2023, by medium

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