South China Morning Post
China overtakes the U.S. to host most dollar billionaires, with the stock market rising in 2020 challenging Covid-19 and minting wealth at a record pace
One in two new dollar-denominated billionaires last year was in China, the first country to come out of a national pandemic blockade and the only major economy to expand last year, according to a list in the Hurun Report. China overtook the United States last year to become the first country with more than 1,000 dollar-denominated tycoons, with 1,058 billionaires last year, compared with 696 in the U.S., according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List 2021. Of the 610 newly formed tycoons worldwide, 318 were in China, compared with 95 in the U.S. based on January 15 assessments, Hurun said. “The world has never seen so much wealth created in just one year, much more than expected for a year so troubled by Covid-19,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher and president of the Hurun Report. “A boom in the stock markets, driven in part by quantitative easing, and a flood of new listings coined eight new dollar billionaires a week last year.” Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the great stories originating in China. The richest individuals on the planet collectively became richer in 2020, while the world was mired in unprecedented economic recessions caused by the worst public health crisis in decades, with the collective wealth of 0.01 percent increasing by 32 percent to $ 14.7 trillion. Its ranks have also grown to encompass 3,228 well-known billionaires in 2,402 companies in 68 countries, according to the report. Elon Musk is the richest centurionaire in the world. Photo: Reuters alt = Elon Musk is the richest centurionaire in the world. Photo: Reuters China had six of the ten largest cities in the world with the highest concentration of billionaires, with Beijing topping the ranking for the sixth consecutive year with 145 of the ultra-rich. Shanghai was in second place with 113 billionaires, surpassing New York with 112. Hong Kong was in fifth place with 82 billionaires, behind 105 of Shenzhen. Elon Musk was the richest centurionaire in the world, with the 622% increase in Tesla’s share price in 2020 boosted his fortune to about $ 197 billion, more than Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos by $ 189 billion. Colin Huang Zheng, founder and CEO of the online discount group Pinduoduo. Photo: CNS via Reuters alt = Colin Huang Zheng, founder and CEO of the online discount group Pinduoduo. Photo: CNS via Reuters Zhong Shanshan, founder and president of water bottler Nongfu Spring, was one of the newest members of the multi-billion dollar club, with $ 85 billion in wealth estimated to be in seventh place. His bottled water company’s initial public offering (IPO) was one of Hong Kong’s hottest stock sales, closing a record HK $ 677 billion ($ 87 billion) in capital, about a third of the city’s money outstanding, in retail subscriptions enthusiastic investors. Zhong, based in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, was the richest new person in Asia, removing Mukesh Ambani from Reliance Industries from his $ 83 billion post, Hurun said. “Asia has, for the first time in perhaps hundreds of years, more billionaires than the rest of the combined world,” said Hoogewerf. “Wealth creation is moving to Asia.” Ma Huateng, also known as Pony, was the 14th richest billionaire in the world, with his ranking rising eight positions, while the net worth of Tencent Holdings’ founder and CEO rose 70 percent to $ 74 billion. Jack Ma’s family, whose Alibaba Group Holding owns this newspaper, fell four notches to 25th, with its wealth growing 22% to $ 55 billion. (Left to right): Martin Lee Ka-shing of Henderson Land Development, co-chairs; Lee Shau-kee, former president; and Peter Lee Ka-kit, co-chairs. Photo: Sam Tsang alt = (from left to right): Martin Lee Ka-shing of Henderson Land Development, co-chairs; Lee Shau-kee, former president; and Peter Lee Ka-kit, co-chairs. Photo: Sam Tsang Wealth creation was helped by the boom in global stock markets, led by a 44% increase in Nasdaq and a 35% gain in the Shenzhen stock market. India and Japan have increased by more than 20 percent, the report said. The US dollar depreciated 7% against the yuan and weakened 9% against the euro, he added. Only three Hong Kong billionaires reached the top 50 in China, as the Old Money fortunes of tycoons Lee Shau-kee of Henderson Land Development, Li Ka-shing of the Cheung Kong Group and Henry Chen of New World Development were diminished by their counterparts on the continent. Electric vehicles (EVs), e-commerce, blockchain and biotechnology were the fastest growing industries in the past year, the report revealed. The list saw billionaires whose wealth accumulated with EVs more than tripled their fortunes, with the fastest wealth maker being Li Bin from EV maker NIO, a 10-fold increase to $ 10 billion. The founder of Pinduoduo’s e-commerce platform, Colin Huang Zheng, was pushed into the top 20, with his estimated fortune up 286% to $ 69 billion, Hurun said. This article was originally published in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most reliable voice report on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP pages on Facebook and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.