Surge of 222 Billionaires to Record 2089 Billionaires in World

SURGE OF 222 BILLIONAIRES TO RECORD 2089 BILLIONAIRES IN WORLD

BILL GATES, CARLOS SLIM AND WARREN BUFFETT SEE WEALTH SURGE US$52BN OR US$100,000 A MINUTE OVER PAST YEAR TO COMBINED RECORD TOTAL OF US$244BN

USA AND CHINA MAKE UP HALF WORLD’S BILLIONAIRES; INDIA BREAKS INTO TOP 3 FOR FIRST TIME

NEW ENERGY KING LI HEJUN STEALS CROWN OF CHINA NUMBER ONE FROM JACK MA

LEADING AUTHORITY ON CHINA’S WEALTHY RELEASES HURUN GLOBAL RICH LIST 2015

• WORLD’S BILLIONAIRES GREW BY 222 TO 2089 INDIVIDUALS. RECORD NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES.
• 649 SAW WEALTH INCREASE + 341 NEW FACES. 869 SAW WEALTH DECREASE +95 DROPPED OFF LAST YEAR’S LIST, WITH 10 RUSSIANS LEADING WAY.
• USA AND CHINA DOMINATE WITH 537 AND 430 BILLIONAIRES, MAKING UP HALF OF THE HURUN LIST. CHINA STOCK MARKET BOOM KEY DRIVER FOR 72 NEW FACES, FOLLOWED BY USA WITH 56. INDIA UP BY 27 TO BREAK INTO TOP 3 FOR FIRST TIME, REPLACING RUSSIA.
• BILL GATES, 59, HOLDS ONTO TOP SPOT WITH US$85BN, JUST AHEAD OF CARLOS SLIM AT US$83BN. WARREN BUFFETT 3RD WITH US$76BN.
• NEW YORK BILLIONAIRE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. 5 GREATER CHINA CITIES MAKE TOP 10: HK, BEIJING, SHENZHEN, TAIPEI AND SHANGHAI.
• TECHNOLOGY KEY SOURCE OF WEALTH FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING. REAL ESTATE, MANUFACTURING, INVESTMENTS AND RETAIL FOLLOW. MARK ZUCKERBERG, 30, BREAKS INTO TOP 10.
• NEW ENERGY KING LI HEJUN, 48, IS CHINA NEW NUMBER ONE WITH US$26BN. WANG JIANLIN REBOUNDS AFTER LISTING REAL ESTATE AND CINEMA UNITS, JACK MA THIRD AFTER DROP IN ALIBABA SHARE PRICE.
• CHINA leads with SELF-MADE WOMEN. OF 69self-made WOMEN IN WORLD, 35 are from China.
• 529 BILLIONAIRES OF CHINESE ORIGIN, 23% OF TOTAL.
• SELF MADE BUT WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM PARENTS WAS THE MOST COMMON ROUTE TO BECOMING A BILLIONAIRE. HURUN REPORT THIS YEAR INNOVATED A SELF-MADE SCORECARD, ASSESSING BETWEEN 1 AND 5 THE DEGREE TO WHICH A BILLIONAIRE WAS SELF-MADE OR INHERITED.
• 40 INDIVIDUALS BELOW 40 YEARS, 22 SELF-MADE. SNAPCHAT FOUNDERS EVAN SPIEGEL, 24, AND BOBBY MURPHY, 26, YOUNGEST. UBER TECHNOLOGIES GARRET CAMP, 36, AND TRAVIS KALANICK, 38, EACH WORTH US$1.3BN; AIRBNB JOE GEBBIA, 33, AND NATHAN BLECHARCZYK, 31, EACH WORTH US$1.5BN.
• BIGGEST GAINER. E- COMMERCE TYCOON LIU QIANGDONG, 41, OF JD COM, SAW HIS WEALTH QUADRUPLETO US$6.7BN FROM US$1.5BN LAST YEAR.
• CHINESE STOCK EXCHANGESATTRACTED MORE BILLIONAIRES THAN US, FOR THIRD YEAR RUNNING.
• CHINESE STAR SIGNS.BILLIONAIRES BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE HORSE (CURRENT YEAR) LEAD THE WAY. YEAR OF THE SHEEP (STARTS ON FEB 19) COMES IN AT 6TH PLACE.
• CHINESE LUXURY HOME BUILDER STAR RIVER IS SPONSOR OF HURUN GLOBAL RICH LIST FOR SECOND YEAR.

(3 February 2015, Beijing, China) Hurun Report today released the Hurun Global Rich List 2015, a ranking of the US dollar billionaires currently found in the world. Wealth calculations are a snapshot of 17 January 2015, and for key people stock movements of 10% or more between the cut-off date and the release date are factored in. This is the fourth year that Hurun Report has released a ranking of the dollar billionaires in the world.The Hurun Global Rich List 2015 is sponsored by Chinese luxury home builder Star River Property.

The List at a glance

The Hurun Global Rich List 2015ranked2089billionairesfrom 68 countries, up 222 from last year, in a record-breaking year for the world’s billionaires.

649 saw their wealth increase and there were 341 new faces. 230 remained unchanged. 869 individuals saw their wealth decrease. 95 dropped out of last year’s list.

The Russian Rouble collapse, brought about by a stagnating Russian economy, sanctions due to Ukrainian conflict and cheaper oil price by the OPEC, has been the cause for 60% of Russian billionaires to see their wealth drop, led by Vladimir Yevtushenkovand VagitAlekperov of Lukoil whose wealth fell by 77% and 73% respectively.

Although the list expanded by 222 individuals, the total wealth dropped by 1.5% to US$6.7 trillion, still more than the GDP of Japan and South Korea combined.

The average ageis64, same as last year.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said, “Tech has been leading the way again for new billionaires. It’s all eyes on the new economy.”

“’New Energy King’ Li Hejun becomes the twelfth Number One China has had in the past 16 years, underlying once again the dynamism of the Chinese economy. In that same period, Bill Gates has been the only Number One in the US.”

Top Ten – Hurun Global Rich List 2015

Name / WealthUS$bn / % change YOY / Source of Wealth / Age / Country of residence / Self-Made Scorecard
1- / Bill Gates / 85 / 25% / Investments / 59 / USA / 4
2↑ / Carlos Slim Helu & family / 83 / 38% / America Movil / 75 / Mexico / 5
3- / Warren Buffet / 76 / 19% / Berkshire Hathaway / 84 / USA / 5
4↓ / Amancio Ortega / 55 / -11% / Zara / 78 / Spain / 5
5- / Larry Ellison / 54 / 13% / Oracle / 70 / USA / 5
6- / Bernard Arnault / 45 / -2% / LVMH / 65 / France / 4
7* / Mark Zuckerberg / 44 / 42% / Facebook / 30 / USA / 4
8↑ / Charles Koch / 36 / 0% / Energy / 79 / USA / 3
8↑ / David Koch / 36 / 0% / Energy / 74 / USA / 3
8* / Dieter Schwarz / 36 / 29% / Retail / 75 / Germany / 3

Source: Hurun Research Institute 2015

↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy * New to Top 10

Bill Gates, 59, retainsthe number 1spot with a fortune of US$85bn, up US$17bn, on the back of strong gains on his investments.Interestingly, one quarter of his wealth is parked with Warren Buffett, exceeding the value of his remaining stake in Microsoft. Other investments include US$3.5bn in Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg also in the Top 10, and close to US$2bn in the Four Seasons hotel chain, majority owned by Prince Alwaleed, one of the Top 20.Gates became a billionaire by the age of 31.Despite being one of the biggest philanthropists in the world, Gates has been in the Top 3 of the Hurun Global Rich List since its inception four years ago.

Carlos Slim Helu, 75, regains his second spot with a 38% surge in his fortune to US$83bn.Interestingly, Slimis said to like to drive himself and has lived in the same six-bedroom house for the past 40 years. Slim has six children.

Warren Buffett, 84, saw his wealth shoot up by US$12bn or 19%. Buffett donated US$2.8bn to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last year. Interestingly, 99 percent of his wealth was earned after his 50th birthday. His children, Susan, Howard and Peter, run their own charity foundations. “I would say the most satisfying thing is watching my children pick up on their own interests," Buffett said, "and work many more hours per week, than most people that have jobs, at trying to intelligently give away that money in fields that they particularly care about."

Amancio Ortega, 78,is out of the top three for the first time in three years, after seeing his stake in Zara drop by US$7bn, due in part to a drop in the Euro.Ortega has three children.

Larry Ellison, 70, with US$54bn, saw his wealth increase by 13%. Ellison is a signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to donate more than half his wealth to philanthropic causes. Ellison is best-known for his passion for the sea, racing in the America’s Cup owning one of the biggest yachts in the world and in 2012 buying one of Hawaii’s largest islands. Interestingly, Steve Jobs was the official photographer at Ellison’s wedding.

Bernard Arnault, 65,stays at sixth with US$45bn.Arnault has five children from two marriages.

Mark Zuckerberg, at 30the youngest member of the Top 10, has had a great year. His wealth soared 42%, moving him up 11 places no. 7. In October, Zuckerberg surprised many with the quality of his spoken Chinese during a visit to Tsinghua University in China. Zuckerberg graduated from one of America’s best-known private high schools, Phillips Exeter Academy, which is why Hurun Report assessed his self-made score ‘4’. Zuckerberg has donated US$2bn.Five Facebook billionaires made the Hurun List.

Dieter Schwarz, 75, saw his wealth shoot up 29% to US$36bn and winning him a place in the Top 10 for the first time. Schwarz inherited a retailing business from his father but has since grown it significantly. Schwarz is known to be very low-key.

Charles, 79, and David Koch,74, go up one place despite their wealth remaining the same.

Jeff Bezos and Sheldon Adelsonout of Top 10after just one year, down to 22nd and 24th place respectively.

Measuring the degree to which Billionaires are Self-Made

This year, Hurun Report innovated ascorecard measuring the degree to which billionaires are inherited or self-made. The scorecard is out of five, where 1 is inherited and not active in business, and 5 is self-made without help from parents.

Self-made with a little help from parents was the most common route to becoming a billionaire. An example is Mark Zuckerberg, who was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, one of America’s best-known private high schools,. Second was self-made without help from parents, most of whom are coming from China and the US. Third was inheriting a business and growing it into a much bigger entity, eg Rupert Murdoch.

China leads with self-made ‘5s’.

25% of the Self-Made ‘4s’ and ‘5s’ are female, whilst 72% of the ‘1s’ are female. For the ‘2s’, the majority of the Chinese are from HK.

69% are self-made and a further 19% are substantially self-made in that they grew an inherited business into a much bigger business.

82 individuals, or 4%, are from the 4th generation or more. The 82 come from 52 companies.

Countries bySelf-Made Scorecard

Self-Made Scorecard / % of billionaires / TOP 3 Countries (with %. of billionaires) / Example
5 / 1. China (61%) / Self-made without parental financial support eg Warren Buffett
30% / 2. USA (13%)
3. Chinese Taipei (5%)
4 / 1. USA (38%) / Self-made, but with a helping hand from parents such as through private education, eg Mark Zuckerberg
39% / 2. Russia (10%)
3. India (5%)
3 / 1. USA (22%) / Inherited a small business and grew it big time, eg Rupert Murdoch
19% / 2. India (9%)
3. Germany (9%)
2 / 1. USA (23%), / Inherited, but active in the business egLiliane Bettencourt of L’Oreal
8% / 2. China (16%),
3. Chinese Taipei (8%)
1 / 1. USA (33%), / Inherited and not actively involved in the business, egLaurene Powell Jobs of Apple
4% / 2. Brazil (13%)
3. China (7%)

Source: Hurun Research Institute 2015

Where they live

The ‘Big Two’ are the USA and China with 537 and 430 billionaires respectively, amounting to almost half of the billionaires on the planet. Indiagrew fast. Russia had a bad year, losing 10 billionaires.

New York is the ‘Billionaire Capital of the World’, retaining the title it took away from Moscow two years in a row. 91 of the Hurun Billionaires live in the Big Apple, up 7 from last year. The rise in Hong Kong billionaires came about mainly from ranking several families individually, as well as 6 new faces.

Rise of Asia: Of the top 17 billionaires whose fortunes doubled this past year, 14 are Chinese, led by Liu Qiangdong of online retailer JD.COM.

Where they live

Country / No of billionaires / Change in No. of billionaires / City / Number of billionaires / Change in No. of Billionaires
1- / USA / 537 / 56 / 1- / New York / 91 / 7
2- / China / 430 / 72 / 2- / Moscow / 73 / -4
3↑ / India / 97 / 27 / 3- / Hong Kong / 71 / 22
4↓ / Russia / 93 / -10 / 4- / Beijing / 68 / 11
5↓ / UK / 80 / 3 / 5- / London / 49 / 0
6- / Germany / 72 / 6 / 6- / Mumbai / 40 / 7
7- / Switzerland / 60 / 4 / 7↑ / Shenzhen / 34 / 7
8- / Brazil / 56 / 8 / 8↓ / Taipei / 33 / 5
9↑ / Chinese Taipei / 48 / 11 / 9↑ / Shanghai / 30 / 6
10- / France / 46 / 9 / 9↑ / Sao Paulo / 30 / 4
11↓ / Japan / 45 / 2 / 9- / Paris / 30 / 3
12- / Canada / 39 / 4 / 12↓ / Istanbul / 29 / 1
13↑ / South Korea / 33 / 6 / 13↓ / Tokyo / 28 / 1
13- / Turkey / 33 / 1 / 13↓ / Seoul / 28 / 1
15↓ / Australia / 32 / 3 / 15↑ / Bangkok / 27 / 10
16* / Thailand / 29 / 12 / 16↓ / San Francisco / 26 / 2
17↑ / Italy / 27 / 5 / 17↓ / Singapore / 22 / -5
18↓ / Singapore / 26 / -2 / 17- / Los Angeles / 22 / 2
19↓ / Indonesia / 24 / -3 / 17↑ / Hangzhou / 22 / 3
20↓ / Spain / 19 / -1 / 20↓ / Dallas / 17 / 0
20* / New Delhi / 17 / 2

Source: Hurun Research Institute 2015

↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy* New to Top 20

The USA: Ranks No 1 with 537 billionaires; 56 more than 2014. Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) overtook investments to become the main source of wealth for American billionaires, followed by retail. TMT, investments and retail made up 125, 110 and 55 billionaires respectively. The combined wealth of the US billionaires was US$2.2 trillion. New York is America’s (and the world’s) city with the highest concentration of billionaires, with 91, followed by San Francisco and LA on 26 and 22 respectively. The USA is also the world’s capital for immigrant billionaires, attracting 211 billionaires. 386 self-made and 152 inherited billionaires. USA added 71 new billionaires. Average age of US billionaires 66.4.

China: Ranks No 2 with 430 billionaires, 72 more than last year. The combined net worth of the Chinese billionaires is US$1.2 trillion. Real Estate has generated most number of billionaires (119), followed by Manufacturing and TMT with 70 and 41 respectively. Led by Hong Kong and Beijing, 5 Chinese cities make the top 20 cities. Hong Kong, Beijing and Shenzhen are home to 71, 68 and 34 billionaires respectively. Average age of the billionaires is 58. 395 self made and 35 inherited. China is the number 1 in the world in terms of generating the most self-made billionaires akin to “rags to riches” – 90% of the Chinese billionaires.

India: Leapfrogged Russia and the UK to third place with 97 billionaires, 27 more than 2014. Manufacturing, Pharma and TMT are the preferred sectors with 23, 14 and 12 billionaires respectively. Combined wealth of the Indian billionaires comes to US$266bn. Mumbai is headquarters to most of the Indian billionaires. MukeshAmbani (US$20bn, rank 41) is the richest Indian.

Russia: Comes in forth with 93 billionaires; 10 less than 2014. All are self-made. The most popular sectors are energy, real estate and financial services with 19, 13 and 11 billionaires respectively. Moscow is home to 73 billionaires. Combined wealth of the Russian billionaires comes to US$365bn. Overall wealth of Russian billionaires declined by 5%.

UK: Down one place to 5th with 80 billionaires, 2 more than 2014. With four new entrants, Mike Ashley, 50, of Sports Direct leads with a net worth of USD2.8 Bn. London is the overwhelming city of choice for 49 billionaires. Retail, real estate and TMT are the biggest wealth creators with 13, 12 and 9 billionaires respectively. UK billionaires have a combined wealth of US$244 billion. Overall wealth of UK billionaires dropped by 10%. Ukrainian-born Leonard Blavatnik and Indian origin SP Hinduja & family are the richest people living in the UK.

Germany: retains the 6th spot with 72 billionaires, despite having 6 more than 2014. With a 28% increase in net worth, Dieter Schwarz, 75, of Schwarz Group shoots to the top spot of the richest German billionaires. F&B, TMT and Retail are the most popular sectors with 16, 13 and 11 billionaires respectively. Hamburg is the preferred city with 9 billionaires living there.

Switzerland: 7th with 60 billionaires, 4 more than 2014. With 14 billionaires, Geneva is the No 1 city for billionaires in Switzerland. Preferred sectors are manufacturing (with 13 billionaires) and Pharma (with 12 billionaires). Combined wealth of the Swiss billionaires cumulates to US$188.3bn.

Brazil: 8th with 56 billionaires, 8 more than 2014. Combined wealth of the Brazilian billionaires totals US$148bn. Financial services is preferred industry with 12 billionaires followed Real Estate with 7 billionaires.

Japan: 11th with 45 billionaires, 2 more than 2014, despite the Yen losing 6% against the dollar. Combined wealth of the Japanese billionaires cumulates to US$112bn. The preferred sector is TMT with 17 billionaires followed by retail with 9. Tokyo is the preferred city.

France: 10th with 46 billionaires, 9 more than 2014. Combined wealth of the French billionaires is US$265bn. The preferred sector is luxury goods with 9 billionaires followed by F&B with 7 billionaires. Paris is the preferred city.

Chinese Taipei: 9th with 48 billionaires, 11 more than 2014. Taipei is the preferred city. Manufacturing is the preferred sector. Tsai Eng-Mengis the richest person (US$10bn).

Young & Rich

There were 40 billionaires under 40, up by a whopping 50% or 16 individuals. Led by Snapchat founders Evan Spiegel, 23, and Bobby Murphy, 25, the USA has the most (7), followed by China (3). 25% are women, of which Elizabeth Holmes, 30, is the youngest. 22 are self-made with 18 inherited.

Billionaires under 40 years – Hurun Global Rich List 2015

Age / Name / Wealth US$Bn / Main Company / Self-made Scorecard / Gender / Country
of Residence
24 / Evan Spiegel / 1.5 / Snapchat / 4 / M / USA
26 / Bobby Murphy / 1.5 / Snapchat / 4 / M / USA
30 / Mark Zuckerberg / 44 / Facebook / 4 / M / USA
30 / Dustin Moskovitz / 13 / Facebook / 4 / M / USA
30 / Elizabeth Holmes / 3.6 / Theranos / 4 / F / USA
30 / Anton Kathrein Jr / 1.4 / KathreinWerke / 3 / M / Germany
31 / Albert von Thurn und Taxis / 2.0 / - / 3 / M / Germany
31 / Nathan Blecharczyk / 1.5 / AirBnb / 4 / M / USA
32 / Scott Duncan / 5.0 / Enterprise Products / 1 / M / USA
32 / Eduardo Saverin / 3.7 / Facebook / 4 / M / Singapore
32 / Lynsi Torres / 1.7 / In N Out Burgers / 3 / F / USA
33 / Joe Gebbia / 1.5 / AirBnb / 4 / M / USA
33 / Fahd Hariri / 1.2 / Turk Telekomunikasyon / 3 / M / France
33 / Kang Qiao / 1.0 / Searainbow / 1 / F / China
34 / Yang Huiyan / 6.5 / Country Garden / 2 / F / China
34 / Marie BesnierBeauvalot / 1.8 / Lactalis / 1 / F / France
34 / Mike Cannon-Brookes / 1.2 / Atlassian Corp / 4 / M / Australia
34 / Scott Farquhar / 1.2 / Atlassian Corp / 4 / M / Australia
35 / Sean Parker / 2.8 / Facebook / 4 / M / USA
35, 34 / Wang Qicheng & Wu Yan / 1.3 / Hakim / 5 / M, F / China
36 / Naruatsu Baba / 1.9 / Colopl / 4 / M / Japan
36 / Robert Pera / 1.6 / Ubiquity Networks / 4 / M / USA
36 / Garrett Camp / 1.3 / Uber Technologies / 4 / M / USA
36 / Ayman Hariri / 1.2 / Turk Telekomunikasyon / 3 / M / Saudi Arabia
37 / Alejandro Santo Domingo / 14 / Sab Miller / 2 / M / USA
37 / Yvonne Bauer & family / 2.6 / Bauer Media / 3 / F / Germany
37 / Yoshikazu Tanaka / 1.5 / Gree International / 5 / M / Japan
37 / Maxim Nogotkov / 1.3 / Svyaznoy Retail / 5 / M / Russia
37 / Jack Dorsey / 1.1 / Twitter / 4 / M / USA
38 / RahelBlocher / 2.5 / EMS Chemie / 1 / F / Switzerland
38 / CiliandraFangiono / 1.8 / First Resources Ltd / 3 / M / Indonesia
38 / Julia Oetker / 1.5 / Dr Oetker / 2 / F / Germany
38 / Travis Kalanick / 1.3 / Uber Technologies / 4 / M / USA
39 / Lawrence Ho / 3.4 / Melco / 2 / M / China
39 / Chase Coleman, III / 2.0 / Tiger Global Management / 4 / M / USA
39 / Nicholas Woodman / 1.9 / GoPro / 4 / M / USA
39 / YusakuMaezawa / 1.3 / Start Today Co. / 5 / M / Japan
39 / Miriam Blocher / 1.2 / EMS Chemie / 1 / F / Switzerland
39 / Serra Sabanci / 1.0 / Sabanci Holding / 1 / F / Turkey

Source: Hurun Global Rich List 2015

Source of Wealth – Hurun Global Rich List 2015

Disruptive Value Creation supported by innovative technology has created more billionaires in the recent past

Industry / No. of billionaires / Change in No. of billionaires / Richest person / Company
1- / Technology, Media and Telecoms / 297 / 40 / Larry Ellison / Oracle
2- / Real Estate / 280 / 27 / Li Ka-shing / Cheung Kong
3- / Manufacturing / 219 / 33 / SP Hinduja / Hinduja Group
4- / Investments / 205 / 21 / Bill Gates / Microsoft
5- / Retail / 174 / -6 / Amancio Ortega / Inditex
6- / Food & Beverages / 156 / 18 / Forrest Mars / Mars
7- / Energy / 129 / 5 / Charles & David Koch / Koch Industry
8- / Financial Services / 118 / 3 / Luis Carlos Sarmiento / GrupoAval
9- / Pharmaceuticals / 89 / 7 / DilipShanghvi / Sun Pharma
10↑ / Logistics & Shipping / 47 / 10 / Jack Taylor & family / Enterprise rent a car
11- / Automobile / 45 / 2 / Susanne Klatten / BMW
12- / Mining / 44 / 5 / Georgina Rinehart / Roy Hill Iron Ore Mine
13↑ / Luxury Goods / 32 / -16 / Bernard Arnault / LVMH
14↑ / Hospitality / 30 / 1 / Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jber / MbiInternation

Source: Hurun Global Rich List 2015