The rich are getting richer throughout the country and the world at large, and the D.C. area is no exception.

A new report Wednesday found there were 9.5 million high net worth individuals in the world last year, an 8.3 percent increase over the year before. The report, by New York-based wealth management firm Merrill Lynch, defines “high net worth individuals” as those with at least $1 million in investable assets, not including their primary home.

The wealth of these individuals totaled $37.2 trillion , with 10.3 percent of the wealth existing in North America.

The D.C. area is seeing even a larger spike in wealth, and the trend is expected to continue, Heather Evans, a Vienna-based financial adviser with Merrill Lynch, told The Examiner.

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The region already has nearly 100,000 millionaire households. While the total number of households in the area is projected to rise by 4.1 percent in the next five years, the number of millionaire households is expected to go up by 59.4 percent.

“It looks like we're just continuing to become wealthier, and I think it's a very positive thing,” Evans said.

The report also found that socially responsible investing is on the rise and that the majority of investment dollars are being allocated to real estate rather than other investment vehicles. Wealthy people in the United States are much less likely than their foreign counterparts to invest internationally, though Evans said she encourages her D.C. area clients to do so.

Evans said the trend toward socially responsible investing can vary greatly depending on an individual's backgrounds or beliefs. Some vegetarian clients, for example, are wary of investing in companies that produce animal products. A number of individuals — particularly those in health-related fields, she said — shrink from corporations with ties to smoking.

melissa.frederick@dcexaminer.com