But dark clouds are gathering along the golden-hued horizon as growth in the number of the wealthy slows down.

Last year, the number of dollar millionaires in Sweden rose to a record high 50,000.

The figure increased by 1,700 from the year before, which represents a growth rate of 3.5 percent.

Dollar millionaires include individuals with economic assets equal to at least one million US dollars, excluding one’s private residence.

Nevertheless, Sweden had the lowest growth of dollar millionaires in the Nordic region.

Norway saw the biggest increase, with a 12.9 percent rise resulting in 62,000 dollar millionaires.

The most fat cats can be found in the United States, Japan, and Germany, which is where 53.3 percent of the world’s dollar millionaires live.

Even in the United States, however, growth in the number of dollar millionaires has dropped drastically, down to 4.4 percent compared with 10.3 percent in 2006.

Countries with the highest growth in the number of dollar millionaires include China, Brazil, and Korea.

The collective net worth of the world’s dollar millionaires grew in 2007 to $40.7 trillion, an increase of 9.4 percent.

The study was carried out by CapGemeni and Merrill Lynch for the twelfth year in a row and includes statistics from 71 countries.