Asia pips the world with over 950 billionaires, Mumbai home to 51 of them

For most across the globe, the pandemic was marred by job loss and pay cuts, but at the same time the crisis elevated 500 people to the status of billionaires. An Oxfam study has also found that the covid-era created one billionaire every 30 hours, while a million are becoming poorer in 2022 as each of them thrive. Although 320 million Asians live in extreme poverty, the region has the highest number of billionaires at 951, out of 2400 on Forbes’ list of real-time billionaires.

A continent full of emerging economies

The continent, which is home to growing economies India and China, is followed by North America with 777 billionaires and Europe with 536 billionaires. Within Asia, China leads with 440 billionaires, while India has 116 and 114 billionaires stay in 10 ASEAN countries including Taiwan and South korea. The rise of billionaires in developing nations is attributed to globalisation and tech, and is more than the rate at which US and Europe created billionaires in the previous two centuries.

Maximum wealth concentrated in maximum city

When it comes to India, the highest number of billionaires are living in the financial capital Mumbai at 51. With top CEOs and founders calling Mumbai home, it is ranked eighth among global cities with the highest number of billionaires. The world’s ninth richest man and owner of India’s biggest congloemrate, Mukesh Ambani is also based out of the maximum city.

Region of contrasts

But being in Asia, billionaires have also suffered reductions in their fortunes, due to stock prices falling and local currencies being weighed down by a strong US dollar. Yet in 2022, Indian billionaires preserved 99 per cent of their fortunes, while their global counterparts lost 83 per cent. At the same time inequality remains a concern in the continent, since China’s richest 10 per cent control 70 per cent of its wealth, while India’s top 10 per cent have acuired 77 per cent of the wealth.