Page 26 - ASSET MANAGER 10 (EN)

26 • BILLIONAIRES INSIGHTS
BILLIONAIRES' WEALTH
GROWS GLOBALLY BY 19%
According to a joint study by UBS and PwC, the assets of the super-rich rose by 19 % to a record USD 8.9 trillion.
Excerpts from the joint study by UBS and PwC
Chinese entrepreneurs are leaders as billionaires in- creased their wealth to USD 1.4 trillion in 2017, the largest increase in a year in history.
• The number of Chinese billionaires rose to 373 in 2017 (previous year: 318), and their assets increased by 39 % to 1.12 trillion US dollars. The growth in APAC was 32 %.
• China minted two new billionaires a week, and Asia minted more than three billionaires a week.
• In the Americas, wealth increased slower than the global rate, at 12 %, reaching USD 3.6 trillion, but the
New visionaries and the Chinese century
In the fifth edition, the report promotes a deeper under- standing of billionaires in the population worldwide.
'Over the last decade, Chinese billionaires have created some of the world’s largest and most successful compa- nies and raised living standards. But this is just the begin- ning. China’s vast population, technology innovation and productivity growth combined with government support, are providing unprecedented opportunities for individuals not only to build businesses but also to change people’s lives for the better', says Josef Stadler of UBS. He con- tinous, 'We are experiencing a new wave of entrepreneur-
country still boasts the biggest wealth concentration from the tech industry by far.
• Currency appreciation saw European billionaires’ wealth grow by 19 %, but the number of billionaires rose by just 4 %, to 629.
• Less economic growth is expected in the next year in the United States and China if there is a full trade war.
Despite healthy growth in America and Europe, Chinese billionaires have increased their wealth the most, by 39 %, to 1.12 trillion US dollars.
These results were published in the annual report of Billion- aire's Insights by UBS and PwC.
ship around the world with billionaires as the avant-garde of innovation. They create jobs and prosperity, but their impact goes beyond the economy.'
The China phenomenon and its challenge to Silicon Valley
• In 2006, there were 16 Chinese billionaires. Today, 30 years after the government allowed private compa- nies, there are 373.
• The Chinese elite consists of 97 % self-made billion- aires, many in sectors like technology and retail. 89 Chinese entrepreneurs became billionaires in 2017, about three times more than in the United States and EMEA.