After years of steady growth, the global wealth of billionaires fell by seven percent in 2018, latest research suggests.

At the same time, the billionaire population dropped by 5.4 percent to 2,604 individuals, Wealth-X, a consultancy following high net worth trends reported.

This marks a sharp reversal in the fortunes of the super-rich in 2017, when their wealth reached record levels.

“This is only the second time this population has dropped since the global recession a decade ago,” Wealth-X noted.

It attributed the fall to heightened market volatility, global trade tensions and a slowdown in ec...