China Has 58% of World’s Real Estate Billionaires

With 139 of the world’s 239 real estate billionaires, China accounted for a whopping 58% of the world’s total, leaving other countries far behind, according to the Hurun Global Real Estate Rich List released. Hong Kong had the highest concentration of real estate billionaires in the world with 25. "The urbanization megatrend in China has driven the biggest wealth explosion in the history of world, with the result that most of the world’s largest real estate developers today come from China," Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Research Institute, publisher of the list, said in a statement. Chinese developers swept the list’s top four spots. XuJiayin of Shenzhen-based Evergrande Group ranked first with a net worth of US$37 billion. Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong conglomerate Cheung Kong Holdings came in second, with US$29 billion.