China has the most number of billionaires, followed by the US, said a report by Hurun India released on Wednesday. In total, China and the US have 53% of billionaires in the world, the report added. India stood at the third spot with 187 billionaires while Germany overtook the UK and ranked fourth with 144 billionaires.
The ‘M3M Global Rich List 2023’ noted that the “world lost five billionaires every week for last year”. The report highlighted the number of billionaires declined for the second time in ten years, adding that the number now stands at 3,112 worldwide, down by 269.
China remained the biggest source of the super-rich, with its total number of billionaires standing at 969 as of Jan. 16, 2023, ahead of the United States with 691.
Luxury brands had a good year, with LVMH chief Bernard Arnault rising to the top of the list and Hermes heirs Bertrand Puech and family coming in third.
Stand-out names falling off the list included Sam Bankman-Fried, who lost his $21 billion fortune after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
In China, Jack Ma, founder of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, dropped to 52nd place from 34th a year earlier.