Did you know that among the 20 richest people in the world, only one was a woman, and that the United States lost its place as the country with the most billionaires in the world to China in 2024?

According to Hurun Global, a research institute that compiles lists and rankings of the world's most valuable companies, entrepreneurs, and start-ups, in its Rich List 2024, China housed the highest number of billionaires worldwide in 2024. In detail, there were 814 billionaires living in China as of January that year. By comparison, 800 billionaires resided in the United States. India, the United Kingdom, and Germany were also the homes of a significant number of billionaires that year.

As the founder and exporter of consumer capitalism, it is no surprise that the United States is home to a large number of billionaires. However, the United States has lost their place as the country with the most billionaires in the world to China. This rise of billionaires in China has coincided with the liberalization of its economy and successive high growth rates.

North America still leads the way in terms of the highest number of ultra high net worth individuals – those with a net worth of more than $50 million (fifty million U.S. dollars). The prominence of Europe and North America is a reflection of the higher degree of economic development in those states. However, this may also change as China and other emerging economies continue developing.

Moreover, the small proportion of female billionaires does little to counter critics claiming the global economy is dominated by an elite comprised mainly of men. On the list of the 20 richest people in the world, only one was a woman.

Recent political discourse has put a great amount of attention on the wealth held by the super-rich with the wealth distribution of the global population being heavily unequal.

The below is a list of Top 20 countries by their number of billionaire residents, based on annual assessments of the net worth in United States Dollars (USD) of wealthy individuals worldwide in 2024.

Hurun Global Rich List
1 China 814
2 United States 800
3 India 271
4 United Kingdom 146
5 Germany 140
6 Switzerland 106
7 Russia 76
8 Italy 69
9 France 68
10 Brazil 64
11 Canada 53
12 Thailand 49
13 Indonesia 47
14 Australia 45
15 Japan 44
16 Singapore 42
17 South Korea 37
18 Israel 29
19 Spain 27
20 Sweden 25

However, according to the American business magazine, Forbes, its verdict seems to differ:

1 United States 813
2 China 406
3 India 200
4 Germany 132
5 Russia 120
6 Italy 73
7 Brazil 69
8 Hong Kong 67
8 Canada 67
10 United Kingdom 55
11 France 53
12 Taiwan 51
13 Australia 48
14 Sweden 43
15 Switzerland 41
15 Japan 41
17 Singapore 39
18 Israel 36
18 South Korea 36
20 Indonesia 35

The Hurun Rich List and the Forbes Billionaires List differ primarily because of their distinct methodologies in calculating wealth, including the specific assets considered, the timing of data collection, and their focus on different geographic regions, often resulting in variations in individual rankings and overall lists, even when comparing the same individuals.

Sources: Statista | Wikipedia | Google AI

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