Wealth of China's super rich to rise in Year of Sheep

Jack Ma (right) and Wan Jianlin (left) shake hands at CCTV "China Annual Economic Figure"ceremony in Beijing, Dec 12, 2012. [Photo/IC]

Ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival that falls on Thursday, also the Year of the Sheep, China's ultra-high net worth population will have another successful year.

Ultra-high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm Wealth-X has predicted that the wealth of UHNW population, those with a net worth of $30 million and more, is expected to add $80 billion this year, up 5.2 percent than the previous year.

60 percent of them will be living in China's first tier cities Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangdong by the end of this year.

Social mobility will also drive an increase in the lowest tier of UHNW (with a net worth between $30 to 49 million) with China's middle class expanding.

Wealth-X also said that some changes are going on in this super rich population in China in the Year of Goat.

More UHNW people will join in philanthropy, with a 24 percent rise in the number of private foundations established.

But luxury spending will decrease by 4 percent in the country amid the government's harsh crackdown on corruption.

As the government is relaxing forex control, they will invest more outside China, with a 5-percent growth per person in overseas investments, reaching $7 million.

Wealth-X also released a list of the top 10 richest Chinese individuals in the world, with Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka Shing leading the list with a net worth of $30.6 billion.

In second place is Hong Kong tycoon Lee Shau Kee with 26.6 billion, Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma is ranked third, with his net worth surging to $26.5 billion in the wake of the e-commerce giant's 2014 IPO, the largest in history.

Pony Ma, head of internet firm Tencent, is the youngest individual on the list at the age of 43.

All of the individuals on the list are self-made billionaires, and none of them were born in the Year of the Goat.