China’s Billionaire Count Drops Amid Economic Slowdown

Beijing: China has seen a significant decline in the number of billionaires, with their total count dropping from 520 in 2023 to 427 in 2024, according to a report released by Swiss investment bank UBS. This decline highlights the ongoing impact of the economic slowdown on the private sector in the world’s second-largest economy.

The combined wealth of Chinese billionaires also fell by 20 percent, shrinking to approximately 1.4 trillion dollars. The UBS report attributes the downturn to challenges such as a crisis in the property sector, financial market volatility, and a weakening private sector. The report noted a net loss of 132 individuals from the billionaire list, though 42 new billionaires were added, and three moved abroad.

Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients at UBS Global Wealth Management, pointed out that many of China's billionaires are relatively new, with wealth often hovering around the 1 billion mark dollars. “Corrections in equity and real estate markets, as seen in China recently, have caused many to fall just below the billionaire threshold, with their net worth now around 800 million dollars to 900 million dollars,” Cavalli explained.

China’s Economy Slowed Upto 5% For Series of Challenges

China’s economic growth has slowed to around 5 percent in recent years due to a series of challenges, including a near-collapse in the real estate sector, stricter regulations, and weak consumer spending. The country’s aggregate billionaire wealth, which grew at an annual rate of over 20 percent from 2015 to 2020, has since been shrinking by about 5 percent annually, UBS reported.

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The downturn is partly linked to Beijing’s regulatory crackdowns on industries such as technology and after-school education, as well as its ‘common prosperity’ initiative. Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2021, the campaign aims to reduce wealth inequality and broaden prosperity across the population, moving away from benefiting a small elite.

According to the South China Morning Post, instead of boosting global wealth, China’s economy now appears to be undermining it, reflecting the country’s changing approach to economic development.