Mumbai becomes Asian capital with most billionaires, bumping Shanghai: report

Mumbai has officially overtaken Shanghai as the Asian capital with the most billionaires, according to the new Hurun World Billionaires List 2024. report.

India’s financial powerhouse, Mumbai, currently has 92 billionaires, trailing Beijing with 91 and Shanghai with 87.

According to the report, this year’s list features Mumbai in the top three globally for the first time.

Globally, the Big Apple is still leading the way. New York City has the highest number of billionaires at 119, followed by London in second place with 97, and Beijing, which ranked first last year, has fallen to fourth place.

China has 814 billionaires, and although it has lost 155 of them, it still has the most billionaires of any country. The United States came in second with 800 millionaires. India came in third place with 271 cases.

“Wealth creation in China has undergone major changes in recent years, with billionaires’ wealth from real estate and renewable energy declining,” the research firm said in a report.

“As many as 40% of the people on the Hu Run world billionaire list, which was at its highest level two years ago, have lost their billionaire status, while China has added 120 new people to the list. Despite the significant decline, China still has more known billionaires than the United States.”

Zhong Shanshan, chairman of bottled water giant Nongfu Spring, maintained his position as China’s richest person.

According to the report, the number of billionaires globally has increased and there are now 3,279 billionaires, an increase of 167 from last year.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has contributed to the creation of a new class of ultra-wealthy people.

“AI has become a major driver of wealth growth, creating more than half of new wealth this year,” the research firm said. “The billionaires behind Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and Meta saw their wealth increase significantly as investors bet on the value created by AI.”