Number of China’s ultra-wealthy dwindles in 2019

The number of ultra-wealthy individuals dipped in China this year, a report said yesterday, as the government seeks to rebalance the economy and tackle high levels of toxic debt. Those listed as the wealthiest -- with holdings worth at least 2 billion yuan ($281 million) -- fell to 1,819 this year, down from 1,893 last year, according to data compiled by the Hurun Report. Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba who stepped aside in September, retained the top spot for a second year with $39 billion in personal wealth. He was closely followed by Pony Ma, chairman and chief executive of Tencent, who has personal wealth of $37 billion. China now has 62 billionaires measured in US dollars, and 32 of those have more than $10 billion.