The Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. (Photo: AP)
Globally, billionaire wealth enjoyed its greatest-ever increase in 2017, rising 19% to $8.9 trillion among 2,158 individuals.
These findings were published in UBS and PwC's annual Billionaires Insight Report, which draws on UBS and PWC's extensive client network and access to data, and aims to promote a deeper understanding of the billionaire population globally.
The 2017 ncrease was substantially higher than the average 9% for the past five years, according to this year's report.
According to the study, 332 new billionaires accounted for more than a third (38%) of the increase. Notably, 199 of them were self-made entrepreneurs, 89 of whom were from China.
"China's billionaire entrepreneurs are leading their country's economic transformation, and by extension that of the rest of Asia," the report states. "Over little more than 10 years, they have created some of the world's largest companies, raised living standards and made fortunes at an unprecedented pace."
Twelve years ago, China was home to only 16 billionaires. Today, that number has grown to 373 — nearly one in five of the global total. The year 2017 itself was exceptional, reflected in China minting two new billionaires a week.
The report attributes China's billionaire growth in part to being a "mobile-first" country with a population of 1.4 billion.
"China's entrepreneurs are discovering new markets among the country's 770 million internet users, creating businesses and changing society at a pace never seen before," the report states.
After several years in the making, in 2017 the growth of China's e-commerce and technology businesses exploded, according to the report.
In this one year alone, Chinese billionaires' wealth increased by 39% to $1.12 trillion, equal to the market capitalization of the entire Swiss Market Index.
