China takes the top spot on the 2023 M3M Hurun Global Rich List, with the most billionaires, followed by the United States and India.

While India has 187 billionaires, down 28 from the previous year, China and the United States account for 53% of all billionaires worldwide.

The report stated that there are currently 3,112 billionaires in the world, which is 8%, 269 less than last year’s figure of 3,381. However, the figure is still higher than before COVID (2020) and more than double the 1,453 recorded ten years ago.

According to the report, total global wealth has decreased by 10% to $13.7 trillion.

Asia accounted for 59% of new faces, 49% of billionaires, and 39% of the wealth, with 57% of the world’s population. In terms of total wealth, Africa is ahead of North America and Europe.

Consumer goods (9.2%) and financial services (9.1%) rose to the top two sources of wealth in 2023, based on the report’s analysis of the wealth source. Healthcare has surpassed retail to take third place.

Fertilizers, commodity trading, iron & steel, oil & gas, soft drinks & confectionery, luxury products, sports clubs & casinos, and hotels were among industries that enjoyed a prosperous year. Nonetheless, there were losses in the areas of semiconductors, cloud computing, cyber security, payment systems, e-commerce, batteries, and new energy.

By contributing $80 billion together, Bernard Arnault and Bertrand Puesch claimed the title of fastest risers.

247 self-made women in Hurun India’s list

There were 247 self-made women on Hurun India’s list, down 22 from the prior year. While the richest woman in the world, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of L’Oreal has an estimated net worth of $80 billion, Oklahoma’s Roofing Queen, Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply, has earned the distinction of being the ‘richest self-made woman’ for the first time with an estimated $17 billion.

According to the research, self-made billionaires are increasing, with 70% of them self-made and 30% inherited, and the percentage of immigrants among billionaires has increased from 13.0% to 13.7%. 61% of the billionaires on the list got their money by selling to consumers, while 39% did it by selling to corporations. 37% of businesses made money by selling software and services, while 63% did so by selling tangible goods.

The Hurun India survey noted that 111 people are billionaires for the fourth or more generations.

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