AI begins to feature prominently in 2024 Hurun Global Rich List: report

Artificial intelligence technology is playing an increasingly important role in driving the global economy, which has also featured prominently in the Hurun Global Rich List for 2024. More than half of this year's new wealth comes from AI-related innovation, the Hurun report said.

Chinese AI chip makers, such as Cambricon Technology, MediaTek Inc, as well as Beijing-based AI firm Fourth Paradigm, have seen their CEOs increase in wealth, according to the latest rich list released by the Hurun Research Institute on Monday.

Meanwhile, AI-related entrepreneurs in cloud computing companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google's parent company Alphabet, Oracle, and Microsoft have also seen a significant increase in their wealth, the report said, adding that Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has seen a significantly increase in personal wealth for the first time, entering the top 30 ranking globally.

According to the Hurun report, despite losing 155 billionaires, China still has the world's largest population of billionaires with 814, with the US coming in second with 800 billionaires.

The new ranking listed 3,279 billionaires across the world, with the number of entrepreneurs with a net worth of more than $1 billion worldwide increasing by 167, up 5 percent year-on-year. Their total wealth has grown by 9 percent, the Hurun Global Rich List 2024 report said.

Among them, the combined high-net-worth individuals from China and the US account for 49 percent of all on the list.

Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water company Nongfu Spring, reigned as China's richest man with 450 billion yuan ($62.37 billion), down nine percent in personal wealth, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk continued to hold the crown as the world's richest man with an estimated wealth of about $232 billion. This is the third time in four years that Musk has held the title. 

Colin Huang Zheng, 44, was this year's biggest runner-up on the list among Chinese billionaires, according to the Hurun ranking, whose wealth increased by 71 percent compared with last year. With a total wealth of 385 billion yuan, Huang rose three slots to become the second richest person in China. The position belonged to Pony Ma Huateng of Chinese tech giant Tencent last year.

In terms of resources and industrial lines that generate billionaires, the list underlined robust growth in financial services and consumer goods, as well as soft drinks and real estate. 

The data shows that global wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated. "The threshold for entering the top 10 of the Hurun Global Rich List has increased from 215 billion yuan 10 years ago to 830 billion yuan. But what may be more striking is that the wealth growth of the top 10 this year accounts for 60 percent of the total wealth growth. There are 13 individuals with personal wealth exceeding $100 billion. 

"At this rate, it is expected that the world will see the first trillionaire by 2030," said Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf.