China’s rich under-40s

Source: Xinhua | 2017-07-05

MORE than 80 percent of the world’s billionaires aged 40 or under are from the US and China, the latest ranking by the Hurun Under 40 Rich List shows, thanks to the booming entrepreneurship and startup firms in the two countries.

The US topped the list with 20, closely followed by China with 18.

Globally, 47 billionaires were included in the self-made rich list with an average age of 36, with 14 debuting in this year’s Hurun list.

On average, self-made billionaires’ wealth increased 29 percent.

The biggest gainers included Snapchat’s Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel, who saw their wealth nearly triple to a combined US$4.9 billion after an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange this year.

San Francisco is home to the most billionaires with 12, followed by Beijing with eight. The telecom, media and technology segment accounts for the most billionaires with 33, followed by Investment with three.

Wang Tao, founder and CEO of civilian drone maker DJI Technology Co is the highest ranking Chinese on the list and one of only two Asians in the top 10 with US$4 billion.