China, India overtake Japan in billionaires' list

It is the first time in 20 years that Japan does not top rich list in Asia


NEW YORK - THE number of billionaires in China and India nearly doubled in the past year, pushing Japan from Asia's top spot for the first time in 20 years, according to Forbes Magazine's latest rich list.

'It was a sizzling year in Asia. Both India and China saw huge gains,' said Forbes associate editor Luisa Kroll, who oversaw the report. 'After a 20-year reign at the top, Japan is no longer in Asia's top spot.'

India now has 36 billionaires with a total net worth of US$191 billion (S$303 billion), up from the 22 it had last year. This puts India ahead of Japan's 24 listed members - down from 27 last year - who claim US$64 billion between them.

China, which had just seven billionaires last year, now boasts 20, while Hong Kong, which has special administrative status within China, saw five more entrepreneurs make the grade, giving it a total of 21.

Between them, with 41 billionaires, Hong Kong and China lead the Asian list, even though their total net worth of some US$140 billion trails India.

India has three billionaires in the top 20, including top-placed Asian Lakshmi Mittal, who is at No. 5 on the overall list. The Ambani brothers - Mukesh, the head of petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, and industrialist Anil - accounted for US$20.1 billion and US$18.2 billion, respectively, and stood at 14th and 18th in the list.

Forbes attributed the massive growth in the number of billionaires this year to a commodities boom, the march of technology, and relative weakness of the US dollar, with 946 billionaires on the list, up more than 150 from last year.

Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing figured at ninth position with a US$23-billion nest egg. Paper manufacturer Cheung Yan appeared on the list for the first time at 390th place as the highest-placed mainland Chinese and one of just 10 self-made billionaire women on the list.

While manufacturing and real estate fortunes lay behind most of China's billionaires, a diverse crop of biotech, pharmaceuticals, software, telecoms and commodities mostly underlined India's growing wealth.

Japanese businessman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, whose real estate assets once made him the richest man in the world, slid off the list altogether, with Softbank chief Masayoshi Son taking the top Japanese spot with US$5.8 billion.

The methodology of the rankings remains similar to previous years. The magazine confirmed the worth of an individual's holdings in public companies by using the Feb 9 closing stock price, and estimated the value of private companies by evaluating comparable public firms in the industry and by consulting with experts in the field.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia had 12 billionaires led by media magnate James Packer, while Malaysia had nine, Taiwan eight, Singapore four, the Philippines and Thailand three each and Indonesia two.

Leading the Forbes' list again this year is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, ranked No. 1 for the 13th straight year.

Russia climbed to No. 3 in country rankings with 53 billionaires, two fewer than Germany, which has long held the runner-up spot in the billionaire stakes behind the United States with 415.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS