The ultra-rich in Hong Kong is on the rise as it counts 82 billionaires in 2014, seven more individuals than a year ago - representing a 9.3% growth. The combined wealth of this top-tier wealth segment totals US$343 billion in 2014, according to the Wealth-X and UBS billionaire census 2014.
Hong Kong ranks third in Asia in terms of billionaire population size, behind China, the Asian country with the most billionaires (190), and India (100). In terms of billionaire population density, Hong Kong is the fourth densest city in the world with 11.2 billionaires per million people, ahead of Singapore - the only other Asian city that appears on top 10 list in the census.
Other key findings from the census:
· The mean net worth of Hong Kong's billionaires is US$4.2 billion
· The average age of Hong Kong's billionaires is 64 years
· 13% of Hong Kong's billionaires are women
· 77% of Hong Kong's billionaires are married
· 94% of Hong Kong's billionaires are active philanthropists
The census shows that 155 new billionaires were minted around the world this year, pushing the global population to a record 2,325 - a 7% rise from 2013.
The combined wealth of the world's billionaires increased by 12% to US$7.3 trillion, which is higher than the combined market capitalization of all the companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Asia is the region that saw the largest increase in terms of billionaire wealth - Asia's billionaires' fortunes swelled by 18.7% over the past year. The region is responsible for 30% of the net increase in global billionaire wealth in 2014. Asia's billionaire population grew by 10% in 2014, with 52 new entrants into the billionaire club - 33 of whom are from China.
The census - which looks at the global billionaire population from July 2013 to June 2014 - examines this top-tier wealth segment by geographical location, gender, sources of wealth and personal traits.
It uses the primary business address as the determinant of a billionaire's location.