With a fortune of 455 billion yuan [$72 billion], Zhong Shanshan, founder of Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring, retained his position as China's richest person, according the latest Hurun Global Rich List 2022.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming ranked second, with a personal wealth of 340 billion yuan, followed by Zeng Yuqun [335 billion yuan], chairman of China's largest battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, and Tencent CEO Ma Huateng [330 billion yuan].
This year, a total of 3,381 entrepreneurs with a personal fortune of at least $1 billion entered the list, 153 more than the number in the previous year. China led with 1,133 billionaires, followed by the United States 716, and India 215.
The number of wealthy Chinese people has overtaken the number of rich Americans for the first time, according to a report by Credit Suisse.
The bank’s annual wealth survey found there were 100 million Chinese people among the world’s top 10% of richest people, compared with 99 million in the US.
The report says the “rapid transformation of China from an emerging nation in transition to a fully fledged market economy” helped create a record number of rich people.
“Despite the trade tension between the United States and China over the past 12 months, both countries have fared strongly in wealth creation, contributing $3.8tn and $1.9tn respectively,” said Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, the global head of economics and research at the Swiss bank.
Personal savings of $109,430 [£83,630] are required to be part of the top 10% of the world’s richest people. While China has overtaken America at this level, the US is still ahead when it comes to the super-rich, accounting for 40% of the world’s millionaires.
The number of dollar millionaires in the US increased by 675,000 last year to 18.6 million. This means about one in 14 adults in America is a millionaire.
In China, there are 4.4 million millionaires, an increase of 158,000 on 2018, according to the report, and 10% of the global total. There are an estimated 1.1 billion adults in China.
The Brexit-led decline in the value of the pound caused the number of UK millionaires to drop by 27,000 to 2.46 million. The UK held on to fourth place in the global league table behind the US, China and Japan with 3 million millionaires – 5% of the global total.
Commenting on the UK, the authors of the report said: “The outlook is now uncertain, with future prospects depending very much on what happens in terms of Brexit.
“Our estimates indicate a rise of 2.2% in wealth per adult from the end of 2018 to mid-2019. However, both the stock market and exchange rate showed increased volatility over the summer, reflecting the heightening of Brexit worries.”
Across the world, a further 1.1 million people joined the millionaire club taking the total to 46.8 million. Collectively, they own $158.3tn in net assets, 44% of the global total.
The report estimates 55,920 adults are worth at least $100m and 4,830 have net assets above $500m. Net assets are defined as realisable savings minus debts and does not include the value of property.
Credit Suisse forecast global wealth – which increased by 2.6% over the past year – would rise by 27% over the next five years to $459tn by 2024. The number of millionaires is expected to grow over this period to almost 63 million.
Anthony Shorrocks, an economist and author of the report, said: “With almost two decades of data at our disposal, we can see two distinct phases of wealth growth. The century began with a ‘golden age’ of robust and inclusive wealth creation. But wealth growth collapsed during the financial crisis and growth never recovered to the level experienced earlier.
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“There was a seismic change at the time of the financial crisis, when China and other emerging market economies took over as the engine of wealth creation. Meanwhile, the United States has maintained an astonishing 11-year spell of increasing wealth per adult.”
The report says millennials – those born between the early 1980s and the late 90s – are the least well-off age group.
The report says: “Not only were they hit at a vulnerable age by the global financial crisis, its associated recession and the poor job prospects that followed, but they have also been disadvantaged in many countries by high house prices, low interest rates and low incomes, making it difficult for them to buy property or accumulate wealth.
“Studies in several countries have indicated that the millennials can expect to be worse off than their parents.”
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the world's leading luxury goods company, continues to dominate as the world's wealthiest individual as of May 1, 2024.
Forbes' real-time billionaires list confirms Arnault's ongoing reign at the top, a position he has held since February 2024, closely trailed by Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla.
In a recent turn of events, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, briefly surpassed Musk in April 2024, securing the second position. However, Musk swiftly regained his status after a remarkable 15 percent surge in Tesla's stock on April 29, 2024, bolstering his net worth by $14.5 billion, as reported by Forbes.
Musk's recent exploration of the electric vehicle landscape in China underscores his relentless drive for innovation. Despite trailing behind Arnault, Musk has narrowed the wealth gap, with Arnault's fortune currently standing at $209.4 billion, approximately $10 billion more than Musk's.
Nevertheless, Arnault's LVMH faced a setback in the past month, experiencing a decline in its stock value, resulting in a $17 billion decrease in its fortune. Despite this, Arnault's position as the world's richest individual remains unshaken.
In addition, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, fell to the third place with a net worth of $193.3 pillion, while Mark Zuckerberg's Meta recorded a net worth of $151.2 billion for the period
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, who reigned as the world's richest person for about three decades, saw his worth at $128 billion, making him the ninth richest person in the world, down from the seventh spot a month ago.
As of May 1, 2024, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France was the richest woman in the world. She is estimated to be worth $95.4 pillion and is the world's 15th richest person
According to Forbes, Francoise's fortune lies in her ownership stake in cosmetics giant L'Oreal, which she inherited from her late mother. Her grandfather was the founder of L'Oreal, Eugène Schueller.
Who is the 200 richest person in the world?
Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024: The Top 200.
Bernard Arnault & family. Net Worth: $233 Billion | Age: 75 | Country/Territory: France | Industry: Fashion & Retail. ... .
Elon Musk. ... .
Jeff Bezos. ... .
Mark Zuckerberg. ... .
Larry Ellison. ... .
Warren Buffett. ... .
Bill Gates. ... .
Steve Ballmer..
Who is the top 25 richest person in the world?
TOP 25 World's Billionaires List 2024.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway — $136.3B. ... .
Sergey Brin, Google — $130.7B. ... .
Bill Gates, Microsoft — $126.9B. ... .
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft — $118.5B. ... .
Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries — $115.8B. ... .
Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP — $106.2B. ... .
Amancio Ortega, Zara — $105.3B..
How is the top 10 richest people in the world?
Top 10 richest people in the world.
Who are the top 500 richest in the world?
View profiles for each of the world's 500 richest people, see the biggest movers, and compare fortunes or track returns..
1. Elon Musk. $210B..
2. Jeff Bezos. $207B..
3. Bernard Arnault. $200B..
4. Mark Zuckerberg. $180B..