- Unites States no longer boasts the highest number of billionaires in the world
- China overtook for first time after 242 new billionaires brought total to 596
- But America still dominates world's richest rankings with Bill Gates at no.1
Chinese
billionaires outnumber those in the Unites States for the first time in
a 'turning point' as the communist nation takes another step towards
taking over as the world's largest.
China
now boasts 596 billionaires - 60 more than the U.S.- after a
staggering 242 Chinese people became billionaires for the first time in
just one year, according to a new survey.
But while there may be more Chinese billionaires, those in America are richer.
The Unites
States continues to dominate the list of wealthiest people on the
planet with Americans making up seven of the top ten. Not a single
Chinese entry made it into the top ten.
Chinese
billionaires outnumber those in the Unites States for the first time in
history... but America has the richest (left is China's richest
billionaire Wang Jianlin, right is world's richest man, American Bill
Gates)
The wealthiest man on the globe is Microsoft founder Bill Gates - a title he's held for 16 of the past 21 years.
China's
richest citizen is entertainment mogul Wang Jianlin, owner of AMC
cinemas and founder of conglomerate Wanda, has a net worth of
$34.4billion - less than half than that of Gates.
The fortunes of
five richest U.S. citizens is also three times that of China's top
five; a total of $292 billion compared to $115.1 billion.
But there is no denying that China's richest are catching up.
According to the Shanghai-based Hurun Report,
a monthly magazine best known for its 'China Rich List', China is now
leading the world for numbers of billionaires in what they describe as a
historical 'turning point.'
Chinese
billionaires now number 596 although this number would rise to 715 if
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan citizens were included.
'Despite
the slowdown in the economy, China's richest have defied gravity,
recording their best year ever,' said Hurun Report chairman Rupert
Hoogewerf.
'The world used to look to American entrepreneurs... for inspiration. This year, 2015, is a turning point.'
The numbers make China appear on the cusp of surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest economy.
However, for a country with 1.4billion people, its 596 billionaires make up just 0.00072 per cent of its overall population.
In comparison, Americans have a far higher number of billionaires per capita, at 0.05 per cent of the overall population.
The
soaring numbers of billionaires follows a global trend which has seen
the rich defy plunging oil prices and a weakened euro to get even
richer.
The communist nation now boasts 596
billionaires - 60 more than the U.S.- after a staggering 242 Chinese
people became billionaires for the first time in just one year,
according to a new survey Forbes'
2015 rich list found a record 1,826 billionaires with an aggregate net
worth of $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion a year ago.
In
China more than 240 new billionaires were made in the last 12 months,
according to Huran - around the same number as the rest of the world's
new billionaires combines, Forbes reports.
Much of the boom was down to the rise of fortunes in information technology and manufacturing.
Experts
say the trend also represents more privatization of the Chinese
economy, around 7 per cent, with ruling Communist Party pledging more
market reforms.
However,
the growth in wealth may slow as IMF forecast the economy will decline
to 6.8 per cent this year, shrinking to 6.3 per cent in 2016.
Hoogewerf said the 'staggering' number had seen China overtake the U.S. for the first time.
'This is the first year we've seen they've been eclipsed. They are being overtaken by Chinese, and not just a little bit.'
'In 2015, the entrepreneurs are Chinese, they are not American. We have American ones, but the king is Chinese,' Hoogewerf said.
Jianlin is one of the entrepreneurs making waves in China.
The
real estate and entertainment magnate leap-frogged e-commerce giant
Alibaba's Jack Ma to become the richest person in the country.
Jianlin,
who is known internationally as the organizer of Ironman endurance
tests and for his stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid, saw his
wealth double to $34.4 billion after a surge in the stock price of
a listed unit.
Ma,
executive chairman of Alibaba, dropped down to second place with a
$22.7billion net worth after a collapse in his firm's New York-quoted
shares.
In the global stakes, Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico comes in again at number 2 after Gates with his telecom firm.
American
investor Warren Buffett, who owns Berkshire Hathaway, took back the
title of world's third richest person from Spain's Amancio Ortega, who
falls back into fourth with clothing chain Zara.
Buffet
made the biggest jump in fortunes last year, up $14.5 billion to $72.7
billion thanks to his company's rising share price.
Facebook's
Mark Zuckerberg, who at 31 is among the talented elite of 46 people who
are billionaires before hitting 40, has been ranked among the world's
20 richest for the first time this year at number 16.
The youngest billionaire on the planet is another American, Evan Spiegel, 24, co-founder of photo- messaging app Snapchat.
The
state of Califonia alone boasts 131 billionaires - more than any
other country except China and, of course, the U.S., thanks to Silicon
Valley's booming tech industry.
While
he official statistics record China's billionaire population at 596,
experts warn that the real figure could be much higher.
Hoogewerf told CNN earlier this year that many of the country's billionaires go to great efforts to conceal their wealth from authorities.
Hurun
is only able to identify roughly half the country's billionaires, he
explained, while 15 per cent of China's wealth is hidden from the
public.
'Think
of it like an iceberg, the tip of it is much smaller than the whole,'
he said. 'We do our best to find [hidden money], but they go to such
extraordinary lengths to hide it.'
While
China's fortune soars, Russia was the biggest loser in terms of
billionaires - dropping down from 111 to 88, which places it in fifth
place after Germany.
India,
on the other hand, was pushed into third place with 97 billionaires
after a bump in the value of the stock market as Russia and the UK's
economy's struggled.
Guatemala
and Iceland join the list with one billionaire each while individually,
the person who lost out the most was Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote
of Nigeria, whose fortune dropped to $14.7 billion from $25 billion
last year.
A
2013 report showed the U.S had 515 billionaires and had nearly a
quarter of the world's wealthiest -- those with more than $1 billion in
assets -- are based in the U.S.
THE UNITES STATES VS CHINA: THE FIVE WEALTHIEST CITIZENS
UNITED STATES
1. Bill Gates - $79.2 billion
Microsoft
Gates,
59, founded technology company Microsoft in 1975 with business partner
Paul Allen with the aim of getting a computer on every person's desk.
The
business magnate and computer processor has been included on Forbes
rich list since 1987 and held the title as world's richest man for 16 of
the past 21 years.
He
stepped down as chairman last year to focus on philanthropic endeavors
including production of a malaria vaccine, through the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation. His stake in the company is now under 3 per
cent.
2. Warren Buffett - $72.7 billion
Berkshire Hathaway
Buffet, 85, is revered for his decades-long reputation for smart investing.
This year saw him return to his spot as thirs richest man in the world.
Warren
Buffett pulled off his biggest deal ever in August, when his Berkshire
Hathaway agreed to pay $37 billion for Precision Castparts, a maker of
aerospace and industrial parts.
He's also teamed up with 3G Capital in deals for Kraft Foods, Heinz, Burger King and coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons.
3. Larry Ellison - $54.3 billion
Oracle
Ellison, from New York, founded Oracle in 1977 after beginning his career by building databases for the CIA.
The
success of Oracle saw the 71-year-old listed by Forbes as the richest
Californian in 2006 and is currently the 5th richest man in the world.
He
officially stepped down as CEO at the software giant in September 2014
but still calls many of the shots and in June this year announced
Oracele would expand its cloud computing business.
Ellison,
who has donated 1 per cent of his wealth, is also a competitive yacht
and previously owned the eight biggest yacht in the world.
4. Charles Koch - $42.9 billion
Koch Industries
Koch, 7, was named as one of the most politically influential billionaires in the U.S.
His campaigns for more economic liberty have attracted politic's big power players.
Funding comes from $115 billion (sales) Koch Industries, which Charles continues to steer as chairman.
He
took the role in 1967 when the company was worth $50 million. Now the
second largest private company in America, it's valued at $100 billion.
He owns the vast majority of the business with his brother, David Koch who runs its chemical technology business.
5. David Koch - $42.9 billion
Koch Industries
Koch, 75, is New York City's richest resident and shares control of Koch Industries with his older brother Charles.
The brothers' fortunes fell slightly in the past year owing to weakness in the manufacturing and pipeline sectors.
David
has also joined his brother's campaign to raise and spend almost $900
million on political activity, education and issues like criminal
justice reform in the run-up to the 2016 election. He is an active
philanthropist, having doled out $1.2 billion so far.
CHINA
1. Wang Jianlin - $34.2 billion
Wanda
Janlin, 61, is the richest man in China and 26th richest in the world, according to Hurun.
The
billionaire founded conglomerate Wanda - China's biggest private
property developer and the world's largest cinema chain operator.
Janlin began his career aged 15 with the People's Liberation Army.
After
16 years in the forces, he began working as the Office Administrator
for the Xigang District and by the late 1980s was General Manager of
Xigang Residential Development.
He has been CEO of Dalian Wanda Group since 1993.
Janlin
has been called a man of 'Napoleonic ambition' and is said to enforce
'iron discipline' in the workplace, where employees are fined when they
violate the company's conservative dress code.
2. Jack Ma $22.7 billion
Alibaba Group
Former
English teacher, Ma, shot into the rich list last year with the
record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering of his e-commerce
Alibaba Group on the New York Stock Exchange.
The 51-year-old is now pushing into financial services, including a consumer money market fund and a private bank.
He also has more than a dozen other investments, from a stake in a soccer team to a film production studio.
An
active philanthropist, he sits on the board of the Breakthrough Prize
in Life Sciences with fellow billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Yuri
Milner.
3. Zong Qinghou - $21 billion
Hangzhou Wahaha Group
Beverage tycoon Qinghou, 70, has amassed a fortune of US$21 billion from the Wahaha brand.
He founded beverage producer Hangzhou Wahaha Group as a store in a children's school in the city of Hangzhou in 1987.
Shipments
of bottled water and tea drinks remain the core of the privately held
company's success and Zong's wealth. Daughter Kelly, the heir apparent,
is group president.
4. Ma Huateng - $16.1
Tencent
Huateng, 44, also known as 'Pony' Ma, turned Chinese Internet firm Tencent into a giant from online gaming.
Tencent's
WeChat mobile texting service has attracted nearly 550 million users
who are introduced to Tencent's revenue-generating offerings.
The company has taken stakes in logistics firm China South City and e-commerce firm JD.
Chairman and CEO of Tencent, Ma has made good use of his computer science degree, obtained from Shenzhen University in 1993.
5. Li Hejun $21.1 billion
Hanergy Holdings
Hejun's Hanergy Holdings continues to focus on driving down the cost of thin-film solar technology.
Growing up in Guangdong Province, he started his career in the electronics trade in Beijing before expanding into hydropower
In 2013, he bought three Western thin-film solar businesses, adding a fourth from California last year.
His company runs one of the world's largest privately owned hydropower plants - based in China's Yunnan Province.
In 2014 he published his first book, 'China's New Energy Revolution.'
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