Most of Shanghai's rich are business owners - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

The number of rich and super rich is growing fast in Shanghai, tells Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf in The China Daily. But unlike their global colleagues, Shanghai rich tend to be business owners, and to a lesser degree real estate developers.

The China Daily:

Business owners, real estate investors and professional investors are the wealthiest people inShanghai, according to Shanghai Wealth Report 2012, published on Friday by Hurun Report and the Australia-based independent financial adviser Gao Fu Wealth Management. 

There are 370,000 people with 6 million yuan ($950,000) living in Shanghai today, or one-in-65 people in a city with a population of 23 million. 

A total of 140,000 people in Shanghai have personal assets of 10 million yuan, an increase of 6.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 13.7 percent of China's high net worth individuals. 

Furthermore, there are 8,200 "super-rich" individuals with assets worth 100 million yuan, up 5.1 percent from last year. Of the super-rich individuals in Shanghai, 75 percent are business owners.  

Real-estate investors account for 15 percent. And finally, professional investors account for 10 percent ofsuper-rich individuals in Shanghai... 

According to the report, Shanghai has 250 individuals with 2 billion yuan, of which 82 are on the Hurun Rich List 2011. Shanghai has 90 dollar billionaires, of which 28 are ranked on the Hurun Rich List 2011. 

The widening income gap is the hottest topic in China today. China's Gini coefficient, a gauge of income inequality, was 0.412 in 2000 and many experts believe it has climbed higher sincethen, indicating a growing wealth gap between rich and poor .

"This year's report shows that property is the biggest source of wealth in Shanghai, while globally, most wealth comes from professional investment," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairmanand chief researcher of the Hurun Report. 

"It is quite normal. As at the beginning of creating wealth, you tend to do everything by yourself. But as fortune accumulates, people have stronger awareness for investment," he said.

More in the China Daily.


Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

More on Rupert Hoogewerf and China's rich in Storify.

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