India takes the third spot in billionaire population

Hurun India has released a Global Rich Report 2024. The report shows that India ranked third on the global billionaires list with a total of 271 billionaires on Indian soil. The report also shows that Mumbai overtook Beijing to hold the position of Asia’s billionaire capital with 92 billionaires living in Mumbai.

Interestingly, Mumbai and New Delhi are among the top 10 cities globally with the highest number of billionaires.

Let’s look at the key highlights of Hurun Global Rich Report 2024.

The number of billionaires worldwide is booming, with 167 new ones joining the club. Now, there are a total of 3,279 billionaires, which is 5% more than last year's count of 3,112. Along with this surge, the total wealth has also shot up, reaching USD 15 trillion. That's a 9% increase from last year. AI has been the major driver for wealth growth, generating more than half of all-new wealth this year.

New entrants

Among the fresh additions, 480 individuals have attained billionaire status. The United States takes the lead with 109 new billionaires, followed by India with 84 and China with 55. This shows how economically strong these countries are and their ability to create substantial wealth.

Highest number of billionaires globally

China has the most billionaires in the world, with 814 people being billionaires. The United States comes next with 800 billionaires. India comes third with 271 billionaires, followed by the United Kingdom with 146 and Germany with 140 billionaires.

Let’s check the table to look at top 10 countries with billionaires

Billionaire’s capital

Mumbai is now Asia's new billionaire capital, beating Beijing, with 92 billionaires, adding 26 new ones. New York stays the global billionaire hub, adding 14 new billionaires for a total of 119. London is second with 97 billionaires, adding 10. This change shows how India is becoming more important in the world economy. Surprisingly, New Delhi made it to the top 10 list, ranking 9th.

Here are the top 10 cities with most billionaires

Source: 2024 Hurun Global Rich List

Individual billionaire globally

Elon Musk has become the richest person in the world for the third time in four years. His wealth has reached USD 231 billion, a rise of USD 74 billion in Tesla shares. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, holds the second position with USD 185 billion. Bernard Arnault ranks third with USD 175 billion. Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian to enter the top ten list of the world’s wealthiest people.

Top 10 Billionaires around the world

Self-made billionaires

The Hurun report highlighted 218 self-made women billionaires. Diane Hendricks, known as the "Roofing Queen" from Oklahoma, is the richest self-made woman in the world, with $22 billion. Also, singer Taylor Swift joined the list, debuting with USD 1.2 billion. Ryan Breslow, who works in Fintech, became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world with USD 1.3 billion.

Sectors which generated wealth

Billionaires have generated their wealth predominantly from four key sectors:

• Financial Services accounts for 10% of billionaire wealth
• Consumer Goods contributes 8% to billionaire wealth
• Food and Beverage and real estate contribute 7% to the billionaire wealth

 Other highlights of the report

• Within a year, 59 individuals added over USD 5 billion
• India ranks second in terms of most number of billionaires added
• The biggest gainers of the year were Mark Zuckerberg adding USD 90 billion and Elon Musk adding USD 74 billion
• Good year for Media and entertainment as it added USD 226 billion, outpacing Software and Services USD 149 billion and Financial Services added USD 118 and Retail USD 104 billion
• 118 billionaires are 4^th generation billionaires