Chinese billionaires rebuild wealth to US$1.68 trillion, the size of Russia’s economy, by seizing coronavirus-led opportunities, UBS-PwC report says

Mainland China minted 36 new billionaires this year despite economic fallout from coronavirus pandemic, according to new report by UBS, PwC

Chinese billionaires now account for half of the wealthiest people in the Asia-Pacific region

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Chinese billionaires now account for half of the wealthiest persons in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to about four in 10 billionaires globally. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 5:19pm, 7 Oct 2020Updated: 11:46pm, 7 Oct 2020

Mainland China minted three dozen new billionaires this year as the nation’s wealthiest grew their fortunes by nearly US$500 billion, some seizing a buying “opportunity of a lifetime” arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of billionaires in China increased to 415 with a combined wealth of US$1.68 trillion from January to July, according to the latest billionaires report jointly published by UBS and PwC. That compared with 114 billionaires with a combined wealth of US$228 billion a decade ago.

The net gain is larger than the size of Nigeria’s gross domestic product which, at US$448 billion in 2019, was ranked the world’s 25th largest by the World Bank. Hong Kong’s GDP was US$366 billion.

The US$1.68 trillion collective wealth of the country’s richest, who include Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma Huateng and NetEase founder William Ding Lei, would be just below the size of Russia’s gross domestic product, which was the world’s 11th largest, if they were an economic entity. Alibaba is the owner of the Post.

Chinese billionaires now account for half of the wealthiest persons in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to about four in 10 billionaires globally. Mainland China’s wealthiest have seen their fortunes grow by 71 per cent since 2018, the report found.

“We have seen quite a number of client billionaires, who have been very active in capturing the [market] window, particularly when it corrected back in March and April,” said Amy Lo, co-head of UBS Wealth Management, Asia-Pacific. “Quite a number of billionaires weren’t there to make that kind of big bet. The selective few [who did] are really making lots of money out of it.”