The world’s wealthy are getting poorer and poorer at an alarming rate.

The number of millionaire households in the world dropped from 11 million in 2007 to 9 million last year, a fall of almost 18%, according to The Boston Consulting Group.

In North America the number was even higher, a 22 percent drop. Global wealth overall has also declined dramatically.

Prince Harry has inherited an estimated £9m from his mother’s estate after he turned 25 years old today.

Although he will not get access to the full amount, he will be able to receive £300,000 worth of interest each year from the money left by Princess Diana.

But despite becoming a multi-millionaire, Harry will not be celebrating his birthday in the usual style.

A Chinese woman has reportedly paid a whopping 4 million Yuan ($585,000) to buy a new pet dog.

The 18-month old dog, a Tibetan mastiff measuring 80cm high, is now believed to be the world’s most expensive dog.

The Chinese woman revealed that her ‘priceless pet’ had been named ‘Yangtze River Number Two’ and added: ‘Gold has a price, but this Tibetan mastiff doesn’t.’

A new report has revealed that Beijing has the maximum number of rich people in China.

The latest Hurun Report on China’s wealthiest people said that there are 143,000 (yuan-)multimillionaires and 8,800 billionaires in Beijing.

In Shanghai, there are 116,000 multimillionaires and 7,000 billionaires, reports the China Daily.

Held in Moscow for the first time, the Summer Fair is a smaller version of the giant luxury market, the Millionaire Fair.

“It’s definitely smaller, but the level of the participants is higher,” said Yelena Kudozova, the managing director of the Millionaire Fair. She listed carmakers McClaren and jewelry brand Piaget as examples.

Highlighting the exclusivity of the event, the fair was held at the Royal Bar yacht club on the bank of the Moscow River near Vodny Stadion metro station.

The ranks of the world’s millionaires shrank at the fastest rate in 2008, with North America suffering the biggest wealth loss worldwide, according to a survey by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch & Co.

The global slump in property and equity markets last year cut the number of millionaires by 15 percent to 8.6 million, wiping out two years of increases, the firms said in their 13th annual World Wealth Report published today.

The value of the world’s millionaires’ assets slid 20 percent to $32.8 trillion, after a 9.4 percent increase the previous year, the survey said [...]