China surpasses US in number of billionaires for the first time

According to the annual report of Hurun Report magazine, by "producing" 242 new dollar billionaires last year, China "surpassed" the US for the first time in the number of rich people.

The magazine says China now has 596 dollar billionaires, compared with 537 in the US.

"Despite the economic slowdown, China's richest people have bucked the trend and had their best year ever. They created more wealth than any other country has ever done in a single year," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of the Hurun Report.

Dalian Wanda tycoon Wang Jianlin has returned to the top spot, taking the crown from Jack Ma, founder of tech giant Alibaba. Wang, one of China’s top property developers, is now worth more than $34 billion, up 52% ​​from a year ago.

Wang Jianlin (left) and Jack Ma. (Source: Getty images)

Wang's strong performance was largely due to the listing of his cinema chain on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Wang has been aggressively diversifying his assets, recently buying World Triathlon, which owns the Ironman brand.

Meanwhile, Jack Ma saw his fortune fall 3%, to nearly $23 billion. Alibaba shares have fallen sharply since their initial public offering a year ago.

Hoogewerf, who is also a researcher at Hurun Report, told CNN earlier this year that many Chinese billionaires often try to hide their assets to avoid attracting the attention of authorities.

Hoogewerf said the Hurun Report could only identify about 50% of China's billionaires, because few wanted to show off their wealth. "Think of an iceberg, the part that is visible is much smaller than the part that is hidden," he said. "We have done our best to find hidden assets, but people also do everything they can to hide their wealth."

According to Vietnam+