China is world’s billionaire capital again as Hurun Rich List swells on stock surge

More of the world’s billionaires live in China than anywhere else, after stock market gains and artificial intelligence generated a record number of billionaires globally, according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List.China overtook the United States to recapture bragging rights on the annual report released by Hurun Group on Thursday, with 1,110 billionaires out of 4,020 globally. China added 287 billionaires since the previous edition of the report, more than recouping its losses over the last three years, the report said.AI fostered two new Chinese billionaires, Yan Junjie of MiniMax with US$3.6 billion and Liu Debing of Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC, better known as Zhipu, with US$1.2 billion.“The concentration of economic power continues,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Shanghai-based research, media and investments group. “Billionaires are at world-record numbers, largely on the back of surging global stock markets, with AI leading the charge, and China’s going global.”Elon Musk, with a fortune of US$792 billion, Jeff Bezos of Amazon at US$300 billion and Larry Page of Alphabet at US$281 billion took the top three spots on the list, with Musk the first person to surpass US$700 billion in wealth.The global list grew by a net of 578 billionaires over the last year, with China, including the mainland, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, accounting for half of the new entrants.Founder Yan Junjie of MiniMax takes part in the company’s listing ceremony in Hong Kong on January 9, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Wong