China had fewer billionaires in 2024 due to turmoil in property, financial markets: UBS

The number of individuals on the mainland with assets of US$1 billion or more fell to 427 from 520, according to a survey published by the Swiss bank on Thursday. It said 132 people dropped off the list, 42 new billionaires were minted and three moved away. The total wealth of these billionaires decreased by 20 per cent to about US$1.4 trillion.

“Many of the billionaires we have in China are relatively new in the context of total wealth,” said Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Compared to other markets, like the US or Europe where the total wealth is on average higher per billionaire, those in China are often hovering near US$1 billion, Cavalli said.

“So whenever we see corrections in the market, be it the equity market, or the real estate market as we saw recently in China, you obviously have a larger number of billionaires, specifically in 2024, that dropped off the billionaire count, because they just moved below the billionaire mark and now only may be at US$800 million or US$900 million of wealth,” he said.

The world’s second-largest economy has slowed in recent years, as it faces multiple challenges, including a troubled property market, a shrinking private sector and squeamish consumers who are holding back their spending. Instead of supercharging the growth of global wealth, China is now diluting it, the report said.