“It does not take any prophecy or forecasting to see the second Industrial Revolution unfolding at light speed in places such as China and India,” says Mayer’s Special Situations editor Chris Mayer. That’s why any investor worth his salt must include overseas markets in his long-term investment plan. Below, Chris lists eight facts that show America is no longer top dog in the world economy…

This from Chris:

Fareed Zakaria, a Newsweek editor, calls it “the rise of the rest.”

He notes an extraordinary string of facts - some important, some silly, but all showing that America is no longer a lone heavyweight without challenges. Here are some of them:

• The world’s tallest building is in Dubai
• India is building the world’s biggest refinery
• The largest passenger airplane is in Europe
• The largest investment fund on the planet is in Abu Dhabi
• The biggest movie industry is Bollywood, not Hollywood
• The largest Ferris wheel is in Singapore, the biggest casino in Macao - which overtook Las Vegas in gambling revenues last year
• The biggest mall in America, once the biggest in the world, no longer cracks the top ten
• Only 2 out of top 10 richest people in the world are American.

“These factoids reflect a seismic shift in power and attitudes,” Zakaria writes. Not long ago, the U.S. held the top spot in most of these categories. It’s not prophecy: It’s happening now.

A recent study by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini adds to the growing pile of evidence of the great wealth creation happening overseas. Asia now churns out millionaires at a world-besting pace. Last year, the number of millionaires rose 22% in India and 20% in China. In terms of private wealth creation, Asia is home to five of the 10 fastest-growing markets.

Asia now has 2.8 million millionaires, third after North America, with 3.3 million millionaires, and Europe, with 3.1 million millionaires. In terms of the combined wealth of these millionaires, the study puts Asia third, at $9.5 trillion, behind North America and Europe again, at $11.7 trillion and 10.6 trillion, respectively. But Asia’s group is the fastest growing and is really not far behind.

Even more than just millionaires, purchasing power is growing rapidly in Asia. “The growth of their wealth is outpacing the growth of their population, and that’s a trend that’s going to continue in coming years,” said Ileana van der Linde, a principal with Capgemini.

This is not to diminish the wealth of the U.S. One out of every three millionaires still lives in the U.S., the highest of any country.

It’s not so much about a decline in America as it is about a surge of wealth in other parts of the world.

All that wealth doesn’t necessarily translate into stock market profits. These markets will go through gut-wrenching declines on their way to new highs. India and China have been the worst performing of the bigger markets this year. But the underlying growth there still has a long way to go. America, too, had lots of ups and downs over the 20th century, but investors who picked up shares during the downturns were amply rewarded for their patience.

And that’s your opportunity abroad. It doesn’t require any great prediction. Just look at what is happening in the world around you.

The U.S. economy will come back around at some point. Even now, there are pockets of opportunity in the U.S. There are mini-boomtowns growing up around hot energy drilling sites like the Marcellus and the Bakken. There is good money in building pipelines for water, oil and gas. America’s natural resources look cheap to the rest of the world. American timberlands are still prized investments.

But certainly, the overseas markets must occupy a sizable part of any long-term investor’s horizon. They certainly have been in mine for years.

P.S. Joel Bowman at Agora Fiancial’s Rude Awaking is offering Chris Mayer’s elite research service, Mayer’s Special Situations, at half price. To further sweeten the deal, Chris has prepared a report for us on a new opportunity he calls the Chaffee Royalty Program. Basically, it’s a portfolio he’s amassed over the years, chock full of royalty investments ultra-profitable resource sector. To find out more about this limited-time offer, read on here.

Source: The Big Opportunity in Front of Us