Billionaire population of Hong Kong, mainland China expands as global ‘great wealth transfer’ sees more riches inherited than earned: UBS

Name: ‘I’m a good catch’: Chinese man wants a wife with US$1,700 monthly salary, car and house
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A ‘great wealth transfer’ is under way, with billionaires accumulating more riches through inheritance than through entrepreneurship for the first time, says UBS

Billionaires in Asia-Pacific are ‘increasingly seeking bespoke succession planning in order to reach consensus between generations on family legacies.’

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Almost all billionaires in mainland China – 98 per cent – are self-made, the survey found. Photo: AFP

Mia Castagnone

Published: 2:33pm, 1 Dec 2023Updated: 2:54pm, 1 Dec 2023

The number of billionaires in Hong Kong and mainland China swelled in the year to April as the broader Asia-Pacific region minted more new billionaires than anywhere else on the planet, a survey by Swiss bank UBS found.

A global rise in the super-wealthy population comes as a “great wealth transfer” is under way, with billionaires accumulating more riches through inheritance than through entrepreneurship for the first time, according to the UBS report.

A total of HK$1.18 trillion (US$150.8 billion) was inherited by 53 heirs worldwide in the 12 months to April, exceeding the HK$1.1 trillion raked in by 84 new self-made billionaires, according to the ninth edition of the Swiss bank’s Billionaire Ambitions report.

The Asia-Pacific region had the highest number of billionaires and the highest proportion of self-made billionaires in the world. Their numbers swelled from 922 to 1,019, while their combined wealth increased by 8.1 per cent to US$3.7 trillion.

“It is exciting to see that APAC minted the most new billionaires during the period among all regions, with a total of 85 new billionaires from mainland China and Hong Kong in particular,” said Amy Lo, chairman of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia.

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‘I’m a good catch’: Chinese man wants a wife with US$1,700 monthly salary, car and house

In mainland China and Hong Kong, the number of billionaires grew 11.3 per cent and 13.3 respectively. Almost all those in mainland China – 98 per cent – are self-made.