Understanding Wealth: In Conversation With Liam Bailey

It’s twenty years since high-end real estate agent Knight Frank first produced its now much anticipated Wealth Report, which offers unparalleled insights into the lives of the super-rich. 

What was it that first inspired a London-based estate agent to launch a data-based report on the world’s wealthiest people, and how has it adapted over the years to stay just as relevant and riveting today as it was when it launched in March 2007?

To find out, we spoke with Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research and the report’s editor since day one. 

Why did Knight Frank decide to produce a wealth report?

In the early 2000s, prime property, particularly in London, was growing at an extraordinary pace. While London had always been an international city, something felt different. Suddenly, very large amounts of wealth were flowing in from all over the world. Capital was becoming far more mobile, and it felt like a good moment to pause and really try to understand what was driving these changes.

Around the same time, Citibank’s equity analyst team published a report called Plutonomy. It set out the idea that a relatively small number of very wealthy individuals were accounting for a growing share of global wealth. That thesis resonated with what we were seeing on the ground. We wanted to bring these ideas together, so we collaborated with Citi’s Private Wealth team and launched The Wealth Report in March 2007.

The aim was simple, really: to document what was happening to the global economy and explore what this concentration of wealth meant for property markets. Ultimately, we wanted to understand how wealthy investors think and behave, because those decisions would shape markets long into the future.

What data on ultra-wealthy individuals existed at the time?

Truthfully, there wasn’t very much. The Capgemini report was already well established and a useful benchmark, and there were a handful of smaller data providers attempting to estimate global wealth numbers. But overall, it felt like there was a clear gap in the market.

To build a more complete picture, we had to develop a lot of this ourselves. In the early years, we worked with Scorpio Partnership and their proprietary Wealth Distribution Model, which blended macro- and microeconomic data to estimate the underlying distribution of wealth across countries.

From the outset, though, wealth sizing was only the starting point. What really interested us was layering that data alongside prime housing market performance, understanding where wealth was being created, and then where it was being deployed.

 Was “UHNWI” even a used term back then?

 Yes, the term had actually been around for quite some time, coined by the banking world as a polite way to describe their wealthy clients. Interestingly, our own language evolved as the report developed.

In the first edition in 2007, we focused on High‑Net‑Worth Individuals, people with more than US$10 million in investable assets. It wasn’t until the 2008 edition that we formally introduced the term Ultra‑High‑Net‑Worth Individual, initially defining it as someone with a net worth of US$30 million or more.

 How did that first report compare with today’s edition?

The early reports were very tightly focused on prime residential property, primary homes, second homes, and investment properties, and largely informed by interviews with UK‑based HNWIs and wealth managers.

Today, the scope is much broader. The report has become a genuinely global piece of research, covering the full ecosystem of wealth. We now track wealth creation across hundreds of countries using our bespoke Wealth Sizing Model, monitor 100 prime residential markets through our Prime International Residential Index (PIRI 100), and analyse commercial property, ESG considerations, global mobility, and philanthropy.

We even track investments such as art, classic cars, and rare whisky via the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index.

How did you source the data in those early years?

By today’s standards, it was quite manual. In 2007, our residential research team conducted face‑to‑face and telephone surveys with a relatively small group of HNWIs and wealth managers. The first version of our Prime International Residential Index covered just over 70 locations.

Since then, data collection has become faster and more sophisticated, and we’ve built significantly greater in‑house capability to analyse and interpret it.

What are the wealth trends over the years that surprised you most?

First, the sheer scale and speed of wealth creation. Even with financial crises and global shocks along the way, growth has been remarkable. Between 2021 and 2026, for example, we calculated that an average of 89 people crossed the US$30 million threshold every single day.

Second, the rise of the hyper‑mobile ultra‑wealthy. Tax changes, political rhetoric, and lifestyle preferences have encouraged a more flexible, “dip‑in, dip‑out” approach to living, with cities like London or Milan increasingly used as strategic hubs rather than permanent bases.

Third, the growth of what we call “investments of passion”. The performance of alternative assets has been striking. Early investors in rare whisky, for example, saw returns of over 370% over a ten‑year period, while classic cars have delivered strong long‑term performance in our Luxury Investment Index.

Then there’s the eastward shift of wealth. The global economic centre of gravity has moved decisively toward Asia, and we expect Asian cities to account for much of the future growth in ultra‑wealthy populations. Vietnam, for instance, is forecasting ultra‑wealthy growth of around 170% over a decade.

That said, the US remains an extraordinary wealth‑creation engine. Back in 2007, Europe and the US were growing at broadly similar rates, with Asia trailing behind. Today, Europe is lagging on most measures. Four out of every ten wealthy individuals globally are now based in the US.

How do you explain your job outside of work?

I usually say that my role is about understanding what extreme wealth means for the wider world. Whether people are comfortable with wealth, the fact is it exists and it shapes markets.

By tracking where wealthy individuals live, educate their children, and invest their money, my job is to help clients make sense of volatility and anticipate what might come next in global property markets.

Why does a property company produce a report covering the entire lives of the wealthy, not just property?

Because property decisions don’t happen in isolation. From the beginning, we recognised that wealthy individuals are often early movers. The places they choose, the lifestyles they adopt, these tend to filter down into the broader market. If personal security becomes a priority, we can anticipate growing demand for full‑service branded residences.

If we see patterns emerging around education choices, we can predict where second‑home demand might follow. Understanding their businesses, passions, and concerns allows us to anticipate real estate needs, sometimes before they’re fully formed.

Family offices are a big focus in the latest report, what are you seeing there?

Family offices have evolved significantly. What were once discreet custodians of private wealth are increasingly acting as sophisticated investment platforms.

In our first Knight Frank 150 survey of family offices, we found a clear appetite for expanding real estate exposure, both for growth and capital preservation. Around 44% plan to increase their allocation to commercial property, while 25% are considering further residential investment.

Many are targeting value‑add and operational real estate, behaving more like institutional investors than passive capital.

Finally, tell us what’s next for The Wealth Report?

The world is becoming more fragmented and complex, and that will shape our focus over the next 20 years. A key theme will be the “great wealth transfer” as baby boomers pass assets to younger generations, with profound implications for how capital is invested, particularly around sustainability and purpose.

Climate change will also be central, influencing everything from the resilience of commercial real estate to the shifting geography of luxury housing markets.

But the underlying objective remains unchanged from day one: to provide a clear framework that helps private investors preserve, position, and deploy their wealth thoughtfully in an increasingly volatile world.

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