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Forbes billionaires list: Beijing ends New York’s seven-year run as home to most number of rich people, as surging stocks boost tech, manufacturing moguls

  • New York has lost its No. 1 ranking for the first time in seven years
  • While Hong Kong added nine billionaires to the Forbes list last year, Li Ka-shing remains the city’s wealthiest resident

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Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok and CEO of parent firm ByteDance, is Beijing’s richest resident. Photo: Imaginechina
Eric Ng

Beijing was home to more dollar billionaires than any other city on earth, according to the latest Forbes’ annual rich list released on Wednesday, surpassing New York in the process.

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The Chinese capital added 33 billionaires and now hosts 100, narrowly beating out New York, which added seven billionaires last year and currently hosts 99, according to the 2021 Forbes World’s Billionaires List.

The “Big Apple” had lost its No. 1 ranking for the first time in seven years, according to Forbes. This is Beijing’s first top ranking. “Beijing added 33 new billionaires as China bounced back quickly from its [Covid-19] pandemic woes, skyrocketing from No. 4 to No. 1 on our annual list,” the American business magazine said on Wednesday.

A buoyant stock market that has especially benefited technology industries, as well as China’s more resilient economy and its quick containment of the pandemic, boosted the fortunes of these billionaires.

The combined net worth of New York’s billionaires, however, remained US$80 billion greater than that of their counterparts in Beijing. Beijing’s richest resident was Zhang Yiming, the founder of social media sensation TikTok and chief executive (CEO) of parent firm ByteDance, who saw his net worth double to US$35.6 billion. In contrast, Michael Bloomberg, New York’s richest resident, had a fortune worth US$59 billion.

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China’s economy accelerated at end of 2020, but virus-hit annual growth lowest in 45 years
The surging stock market also helped China, which added more billionaires to the Forbes list than any other country globally. The country, including Hong Kong and Macau, saw 210 newcomers making it to the rich list. With 698 billionaires, it is closing in fast on the United States, which still leads with 724 billionaires. In 2020, China had 456 billionaires, compared to the US’s 614.
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