The economic downturn in China has removed 155 billionaires from the global wealth ranking.

According to a new report, China has lost 155 billionaires due to slowing economic growth, which threatens the country's wealth. "China has lost 155 billionaires but still remains the world leader with 814 billionaires," the "Hurun Global Rich List 2024" report, published on Tuesday, states.

Hurun Global Rich List 2024 report

The Hurun Global Rich List 2024 report, presented by the Chinese research firm Hurun Research Institute, reveals significant changes in the wealth status of China.

This information has emerged amid the ongoing systematic slowdown of the Chinese economy, which has yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of these events, the economic slowdown in China is increasing pressure on the country's leader, Xi Jinping, to take measures to stimulate growth.

In February, China's manufacturing sector showed signs of contraction, according to the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which stood at 49.1 compared to 49.2 in January, as previously reported by Newsweek.

Signs of problems in China's economy began to emerge when the crisis for the major real estatedeveloper Evergrande started in 2021. The financial state of this developer, which went bankrupt due to debts exceeding $300 billion, affected the market, wiping out about $52.8 billion in market value, as previously reported by Newsweek.

Nevertheless, despite these economic difficulties, China remains the leader among countries with the highest number of billionaires. According to the Hurun Report, there are 814 billionaires in China, although their number has decreased by 155. This makes China the world leader, closely competing with the United States, which, after adding 109 new billionaires, has a total of 800.

The changes reflect the transformation of the sources of wealth creation in China, leading to a shift away from traditional industries in favor of new, emerging markets, notes the Hurun report.

The report also shows how the fortunes of the richest people in the world are changing and indicates that despite economic uncertainty and market fluctuations in 2023, the wealth of the ultra-rich continues to grow.

India has made significant progress, adding 84 new billionaires and nearly doubling the number of billionaires in the UK. At the same time, Brazil, Indonesia, and Japan have also noticeably increased their number of billionaires, unlike China, which had a challenging year.

Despite the instability of the economy, China's "bottled water king" Zhong Shanshan ranks first on the list of the country's richest people, while Huang Zheng, the founder of Pinduoduo, has surpassed Pony Ma from Tencent, taking second place.

Additionally, the report highlights a trend of emigration among wealthy Chinese individuals, noting that many of them have moved primarily to Southeast Asia and the United States, with Singapore becoming a preferred destination.