What’s millionaires’ mantra?

If we say our economy is over a trillion-dollar worth, does it mean anything to an ordinary man who, in the first place, has no idea what a trillion is? Economists and financial wizards, after a long pause, should be able to explain in quantitative terms what the mumbo-jumbo is all about.

So, when the Wealth-X (global wealth intelligence and prospecting company) and UBS (financial services) have unveiled the Billionaire Census 2013, we know how much of world wealth is concentrated in a few hands and in which direction it is flowing. From America to Asia is a tectonic shift, a trend that was foreseen a decade ago when China and India started rising economically. The largest increase in the number of Asia’s billionaires this year clearly shows how the biggest continent has become the magnet for attracting the global riches. It has added 18 new billionaires this year, and if their strength keeps growing, Asia is going to challenge the supremacy of North America by 2020.

India too has a pie in the global wealth cake. It is home to 103 billionaires, more than France, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Hong Kong. Though each country is rich and wealthy in its own way, we should not forget the fact that they are small, both area and population wise. Nevertheless, despite the permanent ‘poor’ tag India carries, the number of known or recorded rich people is growing. We don’t know how many ‘unknown’ millionaires India has since such individuals will never disclose their wealth ‘hidden’ in India or outside of it. They should constitute a good number if we go by the rumoured Swiss secret bank accounts. Similarly, many don’t disclose their assets and gold hoardings, often stashed in others’ names to avoid all kinds of taxes. None could hazard a guess of their numbers since most of them are conspicuous by their absence in public.

So, whenever the number of Indian billionaires is announced, we have to guess-estimate how many are there outside the list or famously called “Billionaires Club.” Even if we go by the record, India is home to the sixth largest group of super rich people in the world and, not surprisingly, Mumbai tops the list with 30 individuals and their formidable strength makes it the “top 5 billionaire cities” in the world.

If anybody thinks that they would be sitting on mountains of cash, they are wrong. For, all that money is ‘invisible,’ in the sense of investments made and properties that are worth. Then how do they manage millions and millions of rupees? How do they keep a tab on how much cash is flowing into the kitty and out; and from where and how do they remember all the figures? It’s mind-boggling for most of us since we can’t remember a 10-digit cell phone number, let alone one savings bank account number. Personally, I admit numbers are not my game. I go horribly wrong in recalling my car number. I am not alone; millions of people can’t remember numbers. When they try to retrieve them from their memory cells, the digits get jumbled up and land them in a mess. When I think of such a situation, I feel eternally grateful to the person who invented the cell phone that stores all our key numbers and data and at the press of a key gives us names and their contact numbers, lessening the brain’s work to remember.

When we can’t handle a few numbers and juggle with a handful of digits, how can a lucky few make millions and make them grow? What’s the secret behind multiplying money? They don’t reveal, of course. Nor,do the books that theoretically make million and billion dreams come true. In the process, surely, the authors and publishers hit the jackpot by giving a few tips to dreamers who can hardly understand the magic of money-making numbers.

Interestingly, most of the billionaires are self-made; that means, they know the millionaires mantra!

When we can’t handle a few numbers and juggle with a handful of digits, how can a lucky few make millions and make them grow? What’s the secret behind multiplying money? They don’t reveal, of course

India too has a pie in the global wealth cake. It is home to 103 billionaires, more than France, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Hong Kong.