A wealth of Chinese billionaires appears on global rich list

Despite a lackluster real estate sector, China consolidated its position on the 2014 Hurun Global Rich List, its 358 billionaires putting it just behind the United States.

The number of Chinese on this year's list with a fortune of more than $1 billion increased by 41, the report said.

Beijing topped the list with 57 billionaires, and Hong Kong had 49, followed by Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

The billionaires' average age was 56 years, eight years younger than the average age of the entire Hurun Global Rich List, and they had a total wealth of $963 billion.

"China's billionaires are shooting up the Hurun Global Rich List, which is why Hurun Report, a media company headquartered in Shanghai, set out on this quest to track down and rank the world's billionaires," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the report.

Real estate, manufacturing and investments made up more than 60 percent of the wealth generated, while IT and entertainment were the fastest-growing sectors.

Seven of the world's 10 wealthiest real estate tycoons are from China. Although the sector has slowed in recent months, Wang Jianlin, chairman and president of Dalian Wanda Group Corp Ltd, was its biggest winner, shooting up to second place behind Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong business magnate who topped the Asia and China wealth list with a fortune of 200 billion yuan ($33.3 billion).

In 2012, the 60-year-old Wang, with a net worth of $25 billion, dominated headlines in China, for activity both domestic - he is now the biggest landlord in the country with 18 million square meters - and international.

Among other accomplishments, Wang has succeeded in listing his US cinema chain; purchased Sunseeker, a UK luxury yacht brand; announced a $1 billion development project in London; and acquired a Picasso original for $28 million.

He also is the highest-ranked executive from the Chinese mainland, having ranked 26 on the global rich list since it began. Small wonder Wang was Hurun's Most Respected Entrepreneur of the Year for 2013.

Technology overtook real estate to become the biggest wealth-creating sector, by producing the most billionaires with the number of 257, accounting for 13.7 percent of the entire list.

Alpha Animation of China and Alibaba appeared on the list of tech and media stocks that rose by more than 50 percent.

"The US economic recovery and an IT boom have driven the world's billionaires to record levels," said Hoogewerf.

In addition, with 245, China has more billionaires with companies listed on its stock exchanges than the US, which has 240 such billionaires. US stock exchanges had a good year, with a gain of 33 percent, followed by China with 22 percent and the UK with 11 percent.

Meanwhile, Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent are racing for the domination of China's Internet space.

Jack Ma tripled his fortune to $7.1 billion, ranking 192 globally, while Pony Ma ranked 70 with $14 billion.

Alibaba, of which Jack Ma owns 7 percent, dominates e-commerce in China and is expected to be worth more than $100 billion after the much-anticipated IPO later this year.

In the meantime, Tencent's WeChat tool introduced by Pony Ma dominates communications.