An average of two billionaires were created in China last year, making the country the world's leader in wealth creation, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS and auditing firm PwC.
The total assets of the billionaires there increased by 39 percent, to 1,12 billion dollars, reports SEEbiz.
The total number of billionaires in China increased last year from 318 to 373, with 106 new ones entering the list. On the other hand, 51 of them dropped from that list, which indicates the riskiness of doing business in China.
The report states that 97 percent of China's billionaires were self-made, mostly in the technology and trade sectors.
"In the last decade, Chinese billionaires have created some of the largest and most successful companies in the world, increasing the standard of living in the country," said director at UBS Global Management, Josef Stadler.
However, as he said, this is just the beginning.
"China's large population, technological innovation and productivity growth, along with government support, provide opportunities for entrepreneurs not only to build successful businesses, but also to improve the lives of others," Stadler said.
The UBS report also states that there are already more billionaires in Asia than in the United States of America (USA). If current trends continue, Asian billionaires will be richer than American billionaires in three years.
In total, there were 2,16 thousand billionaires in the world last year, while the year before there were 1,98 thousand. Their total assets rose 19 percent to a record $8,9 trillion.
The report also states that the US region is still the largest concentration of billionaire wealth, but that the growth of that wealth is slowing.
Last year, 53 new billionaires were created in the US, compared to 87 five years ago. In Western Europe, the number of billionaires increased by 17 last year, to a total of 414.
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