Surprise, surprise. Confirming what is a selfevident reality, the latest World Wealth Report says this week that the rich are getting richer as private investors become more sophisticated in their selection of the myriad of wealth creation opportunities now available. The report, which tracks trends in wealth creation, said that the global wealth of individuals grew 5 per cent last year to $18 trillion (£11 trillion) due to a rising stock market which has sucked more private investment, creating a rapidly expanding equity culture and burgeoning tax shelters in Europe and Japan.

A third of total wealth is held offshore in snug and smug tax havens, most of the money owned by members of the growing global breed of rat pack entrepreneurs or by those with inherited wealth. The report considers that the trend towards greater individual wealth creates massive opportunities for private banks, particularly those that can offer innovative and productive shelters for all that cash slopping around the capital markets, offering wealth creation opportunities of a variety unimaginable only 10 years ago.