China now has More Billionaires than the United States.

 

A staggering 242 new Chinese billionaires were minted over the past year, propelling the country ahead of America for the first time, according to Hurun Report's annual China rich list. China now has 596 billionaires, compared to 537 in the U.S.
 

According to the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, a monthly magazine best known for its 'China Rich List', China is now leading the world for numbers of billionaires in what they describe as a historical 'turning point.'

Chinese billionaires now number 596 although this number would rise to 715 if Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan citizens were included.

'Despite the slowdown in the economy, China's richest have defied gravity, recording their best year ever,' said Hurun Report chairman Rupert Hoogewerf.

'The world used to look to American entrepreneurs... for inspiration. This year, 2015, is a turning point.'

The numbers make China appear on the cusp of surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest economy.

However, for a country with 1.4billion people, its 596 billionaires make up just 0.00072 per cent of its overall population.

In comparison, Americans have a far higher number of billionaires per capita, at 0.05 per cent of the overall population.

The soaring numbers of billionaires follows a global trend which has seen the rich defy plunging oil prices and a weakened euro to get even richer.

Forbes' 2015 rich list found a record 1,826 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion a year ago.

In China more than 240 new billionaires were made in the last 12 months, according to Huran - around the same number as the rest of the world's new billionaires combines, Forbes reports.

Much of the boom was down to the rise of fortunes in information technology and manufacturing.

Experts say the trend also represents more privatization of the Chinese economy, around 7 per cent, with ruling Communist Party pledging more market reforms.

However, the growth in wealth may slow as IMF forecast the economy will decline to 6.8 per cent this year, shrinking to 6.3 per cent in 2016.

Hoogewerf said the 'staggering' number had seen China overtake the U.S. for the first time.

'This is the first year we've seen they've been eclipsed. They are being overtaken by Chinese, and not just a little bit.'

'In 2015, the entrepreneurs are Chinese, they are not American. We have American ones, but the king is Chinese,' Hoogewerf said.

Jianlin is one of the entrepreneurs making waves in China.

The real estate and entertainment magnate leap-frogged e-commerce giant Alibaba's Jack Ma to become the richest person in the country.

Jianlin, who is known internationally as the organizer of Ironman endurance tests and for his stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid, saw his wealth double to $34.4 billion after a surge in the stock price of a listed unit.  

Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, dropped down to second place with a $22.7billion net worth after a collapse in his firm's New York-quoted shares.