Thanks to a massive stock market surge and the global AI boom, the People's Republic once again counts more billionaires than any other country in the world.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk is flying in a league of his own: He is the first person in history to break through the $700 billion mark.
The great leap forward
The current Hurun Global Rich List 2026 shows unprecedented dynamics in global wealth creation. Worldwide, there are now over 4,020 billionaires – a new record. On average, two new faces were added per day last year.
China leads: With 1,110 billionaires (+287), China overtakes the USA (1,000). Impressive: Half of all new additions worldwide come from the Chinese economic area (Mainland, HK, Taiwan).
75% of Chinese billionaires were not on the list 10 years ago. "Going global" is paying off:
Industrial Products: 80+ new additions
Semiconductors: 18 new billionaires (chip self-sufficiency push)
Healthcare: 28 new additions, led by Au Yat-Gai (Regencell, $13 billion)
AI: Yan Junjie (MiniMax, $3.6 billion), Liu Debing (Zhipu, $1.2 billion)
Shenzhen (132) overtook Shanghai as the second-largest billionaire city after New York (146).
❝"By 2030 we expect ten trillionaires – our forecast of one was far too conservative."
Hurun chief HoogewerfSources: Hurun Report 2026, SCMP
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