Wealth-X said that its World Ultra Wealth Report 2017, published last summer, excluded business, finance, technology, family, real estate and travel from its global top 10 IPH table because they did not fit comfortably under the label of "interest." These categories are included in the new study.
The IPH study found that Latin Americans had the highest incidence for aviation, family, engineering, environment and economics. Their European counterparts scored highest for travel, art, music, vehicles, food, science, collectibles and languages.
Ultra-high-net-worth Middle Easterners showed the keenest interest among all regions for business, finance, education, technology, real estate, and health and wellness.
Africans were highest for reading, politics, religion and vehicles, while Oceanians scored highest in sports, boating and animals.
Interestingly, ultra-wealthy Asians did not score highest in any of the 30 categories.
The study noted that the IPH with the greatest universality were those that tended to transcend cultural differences: business, finance, health and wellness, religion, sports and writing. In contrast, outdoors showed the highest variance across regions.
Several IPH showed up within a region's top 30, according to the study, but did not make it into the global ranking: luxury lifestyle in the Middle East and Africa; film in Asia and North America; fashion in Europe; agriculture in Oceania, Asia and Africa; and media in the Middle East.
Here are the 30 top interests, passions and hobbies of ultra-high-net-worth individuals globally, along with those of the North American contingent:
- Business
- Individuals globally: 56.9%
- North Americans: 50.8%
- Philanthropy
- Individuals globally: 38.6%
- North Americans: 50.5%
- Sports
- Individuals globally: 33%
- North Americans: 32.6%
- Finance
- Individuals globally: 28.3%
- North Americans: 27.2%
- Education
- Individuals globally: 17.8%
- North Americans: 19%
- Outdoors
- Individuals globally: 17.3%
- North Americans: 19%
- Public speaking
- Individuals globally: 15.2%
- North Americans: 18%
- Technology
- Individuals globally: 14.6%
- North Americans: 15.6%
- Aviation
- Individuals globally: 14.5%
- North Americans: 18%
- Real estate
- Individuals globally: 14.4%
- North Americans: 12%
- Politics
- Individuals globally: 13.9%
- North Americans: 16%
- Travel
- Individuals globally: 13.8%
- North Americans: 10.5%
- Family
- Individuals globally: 13.2%
- North Americans: 9.9%
- Art
- Individuals globally: 9.2%
- North Americans: 8.9%
- Music
- Individuals globally: 8.9%
- North Americans: 8.9%
- Health and wellness
- Individuals globally: 8.9%
- North Americans: 9.9%
- Engineering
- Individuals globally: 8.9%
- North Americans: 7%
- Vehicles
- Individuals globally: 8.6%
- North Americans: 6.1%
- Writing
- Individuals globally: 8.1%
- North Americans: 9.1%
- Environment
- Individuals globally: 7.6%
- North Americans: 6.2%
- Food
- Individuals globally: 7.2%
- North Americans: 6%
- Economics
- Individuals globally: 7.2%
- North Americans: 5.1%
- Science
- Individuals globally: 7.1%
- North Americans: 6.8%
- Animals
- Individuals globally: 7%
- North Americans: 7.5%
- Reading
- Individuals globally: 6.8%
- North Americans: 6.2%
- Collectibles
- Individuals globally: 6.8%
- North Americans: 5.7%
- Boating
- Individuals globally: 6.7%
- North Americans: 5.4%
- Law
- Individuals globally: 6.1%
- North Americans: 7.4%
- Languages
- Individuals globally: 5%
- North Americans: blank
- Religion
- Individuals globally: 5%
- North Americans: 5.6%
— Related on ThinkAdvisor:
Ultra-wealthy North Americans are more interested in aviation than the global average, Wealth-X says. 
