Merrill estimates 200,000 NRI millionaires in US

NRIs who have shown that they are not behind any person on earth may it be in academics, information technology, biotechnology etc have placed their mark in every aspect. Accoridng to an estimate from the investment firm Merrill Lynch there are about 2,00,000 millionaires of Indian origin in United States.

Merrill Lynch executives however said that the number not only include just NRIs but also people of Indian origin. Considering this figure United States has an estimated 2.1 million millionaires, which is less than one percent of its population compared to the nearly 10 per cent for the Indian-Americans.

If Merrill estimates are right, the 200,000 millionaires of Indian origin alone would have a cumulative wealth of $ 200 billion plus. This has been possible as India has the expertise in information technology and software industry that helped many non resident Indian in US.

For instance, Merrill’s claim that "the size of the Indian entrepreneur market in Silicon Valley alone comprised 200,000 people" is hard to square with census figures that show the entire Bay Area’s Indian population is around 300,000.Studies by Merrill Lynch show that the NRI community is highly conservative when it comes to business and finance, with a strong propensity towards saving.