What’s new: China had fewer rich families in 2022 as the world’s second-largest economy suffered from challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown, according to the latest wealth report from the Hurun Research Institute.
The number of “ultra-high-net-worth” families in China — defined as with at least 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) in assets — fell 3.8% to 133,000 as of Jan. 1, 2023, according to the annual Hurun Wealth Report published Tuesday.
The number of affluent households with at least 6 million yuan in assets fell 0.8% to 5.14 million, while the number of “high-net-worth” families — with wealth of 10 million yuan or more — shrank 1.3% to 2.08 million, the report said.
“For the second time in 15 years, China has seen a decline in the number of high-net-worth households,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report Inc. He attributed this to a slew of challenges in 2022, including the pandemic, the evolving geopolitical landscape and rising uncertainty about global economic growth.
What’s more: Over half of the high-net-worth individuals were business owners and 34% were “gold-collar” workers — mainly those with senior positions at industrial conglomerates and multinational firms, according to the report.
The rest were professionals engaged in financial investments such as stocks, as well as real estate investment, the report said.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
