China’s super rich got $2 trillion richer during pandemic: Report

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Oct 21, 2020 06:00 am

BEIJING : China's super wealthy have earned a record US$1.5 trillion (S$2 trillion) this year, more than the past five years combined, as e-commerce and gaming boomed during pandemic lockdowns, an annual rich list said yesterday.

An extra 257 people also joined the billionaires' club in the world's No. 2 economy by August, following two years of shrinking membership, according to the closely watched Hurun Report.

The country now has a total of 878 billionaires. The US had 626 people in the top bracket at the start of the year, according to Hurun in its February global list.

The report found that there were around 2,000 individuals with a net worth of more than 2 billion yuan (S$406 million) in August, giving them a combined net worth of US$4 trillion.

Mr Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce titan Alibaba, once again topped the list after his wealth surged a whopping 45 per cent to US$58.8 billion. - AFP