The world continues to see the number of billionaires increasing.
Since John D. Rockefeller became the very first billionaire in the world in 1916, thousands more have achieved the status over the decades, with the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, currently holding the title of the richest billionaire in the world, with a net worth of £351.64 billion ($447 billion).
But where do the very wealthiest people live and which country is home to the most billionaires?
Research and publishing group Hurun compiles the top rankings of entrepreneurs, businesses and other entities.
The chief researcher and chairman of Hurun, Rubert Hoogewerf, is a British businessman who is known by his Chinese name Hu Run and is best known for his Hurun Rich List, which analyses and ranks the wealthiest individuals globally.
The Hurun Global Rich List defines a billionaire as someone with at least five billion Chinese yuan – the equivalent of £551.5 million or $700 million.
According to the Hurun Rich List, there is one country that is not only famed for its sheer size, but also for being home to the most billionaires in the world in 2024.
When using Hurun’s parameters, China comes out on top compared to any other country for having the most billionaires.
According to the list, China has around 814 billionaires, making it the largest number in the world despite the country having lost 155 billionaires year-on-year.
The gap between the USA and China, in terms of the most billionaires, has been reduced to just 14 billionaires and despite the USA gaining an extra 109 over the years, China still ranks higher.
These two nations combined account for nearly half of the 3,279 billionaires found throughout the world, according to Hurun’s parametres.
Among these Chinese billionaires is Zhong Shanshan, the founder of a bottled water and tea drink producer Nongfu Spring.
Shanshan has a net worth of £40 billion ($50.8 billion) and has held the number one spot for an impressive four years in a row.
Other notable billionaires in China include Zhang Yiming, a technology entrepreneur with a net worth of £36.8 billion ($46.8 billion) and Colin Huang, the founder of e-commerce firm PDD Holdings Inc., with a net worth of £34.5 billion ($43.9 billion).
Many Chinese billionaires amassed their impressive wealth through sectors such as technology and retail and many were self-made.
Shenzhen, a city in southeastern China, is one of the billionaire capitals of the world and is a city that’s home to some of China’s wealthiest people.
The Hurun Rich List placed the USA at number 2 with 800 billionaires, India sits at number 3 with 271 billionaires and the UK sits at number 4 with 146 billionaires.
According to Forbes, which takes in different values when compiling their billionaire list, USA has the most billionaires in the world and considers China to be in second place.
