Beijing leads nation on rich list

Beijing has the largest number of rich people in China, being home to more than 100,000 high-net-worth families.

This is the finding of the 2012 China Wealth Report co-released by Boston Consulting Group and China Construction Bank.

The report said there are more than 200 high-net-worth families out of every 10,000 families in Beijing.

Based on a survey of 1,912 individuals with household net worth of at least 6 million yuan ($950,000), the report found that Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong were each home to at least 100,000 rich families in 2012, comprising 40 percent of the high-net-worth families nationwide.

But China's inland regions are seeing faster growth in the number of dollar millionaires than Beijing, the report found but provided no figures.

The number of high-net-worth households in Anhui, Gansu and Hunan rose by 30 percent year-on-year in 2012, but the growth rate for high-net-worth families in Guangdong and Zhejiang was below 10 percent in 2012 due to a drop in business owners' wealth, and companies' operating difficulties.

Some 56 percent of the millionaires are company owners, 60 percent of whom are seeing their companies prosper with steady income and profits.

The number of millionaires making their fortune from property market investment fell significantly in 2012, the report found but provided no figures.

Most interviewees were optimistic about the high-tech and medical industries providing future sources of wealth.

The report also found that investable assets held by households in 2012 increased 14 percent year-on-year to 73 trillion yuan.

The number of high-net-worth households grew by 17 percent to reach 1.74 million in 2012.

(China Daily 01/16/2013 page13)