China's Billionaires Decrease by 164 Year-on-Year
US Sees Minimum 25 Decrease in Same Period
Total Net Worth of Tycoons Also Drops 15%
Economic Impact from Zero-COVID Policy
The number of billionaires in China has sharply declined. This is analyzed as a result of a decrease in asset size due to the stringent COVID-19 prevention policy known as 'Zero COVID' and the collapse of the real estate market.
According to the global billionaire list released by the Hurun Research Institute on the 23rd (local time), as of January 16 this year, there were a total of 3,112 individuals worldwide with a net worth exceeding $1 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion KRW). Among them, the billionaire with the largest assets was Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMB) from France, with a net worth of $202 billion. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with assets of $157 billion, followed Arnault to rank second in the global billionaire rankings.
The number of Chinese billionaires was 969, a decrease of 164 from the previous year. Compared to the United States, which saw a decrease of 25 to 69 during the same period (691 people), this represents a significant decline of 14%. The total net worth of Chinese billionaires included in the list also dropped by 15% compared to the previous year. Globally, the total net worth of billionaires decreased by 10% year-on-year.
The main reason for the decrease in the number of Chinese billionaires is attributed to the impact of the high-intensity prevention policy, 'Zero COVID.' Last year, as Chinese authorities locked down cities to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Chinese economy grew by only 3% annually.
Strengthened regulations on real estate and corporations by the Chinese government also had a significant impact on the reduction of billionaires' assets. To stabilize the real estate market, Chinese authorities announced a series of regulatory policies last year, such as limiting loan amounts based on developers' ratios. As funding channels were blocked by government regulations, real estate tycoons began to collapse, including Evergrande Group, China's second-largest real estate company, which defaulted on its debts. The wealth of Xu, who once ranked second in Asia with $42 billion (approximately 51.9636 trillion KRW), decreased by 93% amid Evergrande Group's crisis.
In the case of Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce company Alibaba, his wealth sharply declined after becoming a target of the authorities for criticizing the Chinese government. The Hong Kong stock market listing of Alibaba's subsidiary Ant Group was canceled by the securities authorities, and financial authorities fined Alibaba and Ant Group for violating antitrust laws. Once China's richest man, Jack Ma barely made it into the top 10 Chinese billionaires this year.
Additionally, the yuan's value depreciated by about 6% against the dollar, which also contributed to the apparent reduction in Chinese billionaires' assets. This ranking calculates net worth based on the dollar.
Major foreign media reported, "As Chinese President Xi Jinping pursues a common prosperity policy to reduce polarization, many wealthy Chinese have begun moving their assets to havens such as Singapore."
Meanwhile, in this survey, Beijing was identified as the city where billionaires gather the most. New York and Shanghai ranked second and third, respectively. Shenzhen, the center of the IT industry, ranked fifth.
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