China closing in on third place in country rich list
Number of ultra high-net-worth individuals in nation will jump 87.4 per cent to 15,681 by 2024
China is on track to overtake Germany and Britain as the country with the third-largest number of people with assets of more than US$30 million within 10 years, a report estimates.
Last year, the United States topped the list with 40,581 people in this wealth bracket, followed by Japan. The two countries are expected to retain the top positions in 2024. Worldwide, there were now 172,850 people with wealth totalling US$20.8 trillion, an increase of US$700 billion from 2013, the Wealth Report, prepared by the research firm WealthInsight, said.
In terms of billionaires, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai were the three mainland cities that made it into the world's top 20 cities for wealth. Over the next 10 years, mainland cities would comprise two-thirds of the top 30 cities, according to the report.
David Ji, head of research and consultancy for greater China at Knight Frank, believes the growth in the number of super rich in China will continue in line with the country's economic rise. He declined to speculate on whether Beijing's anti-corruption campaign would affect the growth in their ranks.
The report noted that 15 per cent of Chinese with more than US$1 million excluding their main home - 76,200 people - emigrated or acquired alternative citizenship over the 10 years to 2013. China topped the list of countries with the biggest outflows of such people, classified as high-net-worth individuals.
Nicholas Holt, head of research for Asia-Pacific at Knight Frank, said the impact of Chinese millionaires moving abroad exerted a strong influence on prime housing markets around the world.
In the first nine months of last year, 44 per cent of applicants for Britain's tier-one investment visa scheme were from mainland China.