Beijing is still world's billionaire capital

Beijing was listed as the billionaire capital of the world for the second year running, ahead of New York, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, according to the latest findings Hurun Global Rich List 2017, which was released on March 7.

Bill Gates was listed as the richest man in the world with a net wealth of $81 billion, and Warren Buffett remained in second place with $78 billion. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc, reached the top three for the first time, as his wealth surged 37 percent to $72 billion.

The total number of Chinese billionaires exceeded that of the United States for the second year running. China and the US, with 609 and 552 respective billionaires, accounted for half of the billionaires worldwide, the report said.

Globally, the logistics and retail sectors performed the best, gaining 15 percent and 13 percent respectively, in number of billionaires.

Germany had the third-largest number of billionaires this year, surpassing India. The United Arab Emirates and Indonesia broke into the top 20 for the first time.

"Shenzhen and Hong Kong now have one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world, ahead of even California, the state with the most billionaires in the US," says Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

"Global wealth is being concentrated in the hands of the billionaires at a rate far exceeding global growth," Hoogewerf says.

China added 41 billionaires over last year. Their average age was 58, younger than the global average of 64.

The February IPO of China's leading delivery and logistics company, SF Express Group Co, made CEO Wang Wei the third-richest man in China. His wealth surged fivefold to $27 billion, just behind Dalian Wanda's Wang Jianlin with $30 billion and Alibaba's Jack Ma with $29 billion.

In China, the real estate sector generated the most billionaires, followed by the manufacturing, technology, media, and telecom industries.

Fifteen percent of the billionaires were women. Among the 152 women who built their own fortunes, Chinese women led the way with 121.

"China is indisputably now the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur," Hoogewerf says.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/10/2017 page28)