These Countries Have Gained The Most Billionaires In The Past Decade

In the decade that began in 2010, hot off the heels of the Great Recession, economic growth boomed and stock markets worldwide registered years of significant upticks. That helped fuel huge growth in large fortunes. The number of billionaires around the globe nearly tripled over the past decade, reaching 2,095 on the 2020 Forbes World’s Billionaires list, published on April 7. This elite group has a collective net worth of $8 trillion, up from $3.5 trillion a decade ago. Sixty-one countries and territories gained billionaires in that time frame. (All 2020 net worths are as of March 18, 2020, the date we used to compile the list.)

Asia has been particularly prolific. China, which gained the most billionaires this decade, now has 389 billionaires (not including an additional 66 from Hong Kong), up from 64 in 2010. Thailand went from three billionaires in 2010 to 20 in 2020. Similarly, fortunes surged in Singapore, which went from four billionaires in 2010 to 26 this year. India, the country with the fourth largest number of billionaires, saw a 108% increase from 2010, bringing the country’s 2020 total to 102 billionaires.

Four of the top 10 countries with the biggest increase in billionaires since 2010 are in Europe: Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. Eighteen countries without billionaires in 2010 gained at least one billionaire this decade, including St. Kitts and Nevis, Nepal, Qatar and Tanzania.

But the wealth hasn’t spread everywhere. Ten countries — including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Belgium and New Zealand — had a decrease in the number of billionaire citizens. Forbes chose to stop listing billionaires from Saudi Arabia in 2018 after reliable information on their assets dried up (here’s the context). Four other countries — Lebanon, Georgia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — have the same number of billionaires as they did in 2010.

Here are the 10 countries and territories that gained the most billionaires this decade; net worths are as of March 18, 2020.

1. CHINA

Billionaires gained since 2010: +325

Total billionaires today: 389 

(note: Hong Kong billionaires are excluded from this total and listed separately)

Notable newcomers: Li Yongxin, Robin Zeng 

This year, 80 new Chinese billionaires debuted on our list of the world’s richest people. This ends a decade of impressive growth: the number of billionaires in China sextupled from 64 in 2010. Chinese consumers have spent more on healthcare thanks to rising incomes, minting more pharmaceutical and healthcare fortunes. Fan Minhua, the CEO of generics drug supplier Poly Pharm, is one of five pharmaceutical billionaire newcomers in 2020, with a net worth of $1 billion.

2. UNITED STATES

Billionaires gained since 2010: +210

Total billionaires today: 614

Notable newcomers: MacKenzie Bezos, Kylie Jenner and Tim Sweeney

The 614 Americans who made our 2020 billionaires list are collectively worth $2.9 trillion – up from 404 people worth $1.3 trillion in 2010. The 210 Americans that broke into the billionaire ranks in the past decade represent a 52% increase. The growing tech sector certainly helped bolster the ranks. The United States gained 61 tech billionaires in the past decade. Today, these billionaires represent 17% of the country’s total billionaires.

3. GERMANY

Billionaires gained since 2010: +55

Total billionaires today: 107

Notable newcomers: Gabriella Meister & family

The number of German billionaires more than doubled over the past decade as Europe’s largest economy grew. According to a Deutsche Bundesbank study, average household wealth in Germany increased by roughly 20% between 2010 and 2017. This was particularly significant for German real estate owners, whose net worth rose in tandem with higher real estate prices, Bundesbank found.

4. INDIA

Billionaires gained since 2010: +53

Total billionaires today: 102

Notable newcomers: Byju Raveendran

Despite having the fourth-highest billionaire growth over the past decade, India has seen heavy fluctuation in its billionaire population in recent years. The number of Indian billionaires fell between 2011 and 2012, and again between 2015 and 2016. In 2019, economic growth in India slowed to a six-year low of 5%, after Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term as prime minister. India’s biggest winner of the decade? Oil and gas tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who has remained India’s richest person for the 12th consecutive year, with a net worth of $36.8 billion – up from $29 billion in 2010.

5. HONG KONG

Billionaires gained since 2010: +41

Total billionaires today: 66

Notable newcomers: Zhuo Jun, Tang Shing-bor

With a net gain of 41 billionaires for the decade, the Chinese territory narrowly beats out Russia (which gained 38 billionaires) for fifth place. But this past year has been tough on Hong Kong billionaires. Political protests over many months dominated the headlines and kept tourists away long before the coronavirus pandemic exploded. There were mixed results for the region’s tycoons. Twenty-one Hong Kong citizens on our 2020 Billionaires list added to their wealth this year, while 40 saw their net worths decline. One thing has remained mostly constant over the past decade, though. Li Ka-shing, one of Asia’s most influential businessmen, had until this year held the No. 1 spot as Hong Kong’s richest for 19 years. He was finally surpassed this year by property tycoon Lee Shau Kee.

6. RUSSIA

Billionaires gained since 2010: +38

Total billionaires today: 99

Notable newcomers: Tatyana Bakalchuk, Alexey Repik 

This decade has been good for Russia’s wealthiest. The ranks of the country’s billionaires swelled 62%  from 2010 to 2020. And in the past decade Elena Baturina and Tatyana Bakalchuk were the first women in Russia to become billionaires. Baturina, whose husband Yury Luzkhov was the powerful mayor of Moscow for years, debuted on the Forbes billionaires list in 2010. Bakalchuk, the founder and CEO of e-commerce site Wildberries, became a billionaire last year.  

7. FRANCE

Billionaires gained since 2010: +27

Total billionaires today: 39

Notable newcomers: Mohed Altrad, Patrick Drahi

In 2010, France had just 12 billionaires worth $90 billion. The country’s most prominent billionaire, luxury goods titan and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, accounted for nearly one-third of that figure a decade ago, with a net worth of $27.5 billion. Since then Arnault’s fortune has grown, as has the number of French billionaires. As of the 2020 Forbes billionaires list, the country’s 39 billionaires are worth $304 billion and Arnault, the world’s third richest person, is worth $76 billion. One of France’s most interesting newcomers this decade is Mohed Altrad, who debuted on the list in 2015. Altrad, who heads construction and maintenance services company Altrad Group, began life as an orphaned Bedouin in the Syrian desert, surviving on just one meal a day. Today, he’s worth $3.3 billion.

7. BRAZIL

Billionaires gained since 2010: +27

Total billionaires today: 45

Notable newcomers: Luis Frias, Luciano Hang

The number of billionaires in Brazil has fluctuated in recent years, as a result of the country’s severe economic crisis in 2015 and a drop in the value of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. The country started off the decade with just 18 billionaires and reached a record high of 65 billionaires in 2014. Brazil’s billionaire ranks have fallen steadily since then, though the number of billionaires hit 58 in 2019. In that year, Luciano Hang joined the ranks thanks to the success of department store chain Havan, which he cofounded in 1986.

9. SWITZERLAND

Billionaires gained since 2010: +24

Total billionaires today: 35

Notable newcomers: Urs Wietlisbach, Michael Pieper

Small but mighty Switzerland has more than triple the number of billionaires it did at the beginning of the decade. The country kicked off 2010 with 11 billionaires worth $40 billion. Today, Switzerland’s 35 billionaires are collectively worth $96 billion. Notable newcomer Michael Pieper debuted on the list in 2013, 24 years after taking over his father’s Franke Group, a maker of kitchen sinks and other industrial-grade kitchen equipment. His fortune peaked at $4.2 billion in 2017; as of the 2020 list, he’s worth $2.6 billion.

10. ITALY

Billionaires gained since 2010: +23

Total billionaires today: 36

Notable newcomers: Romano Minozzi, Gustavo Denegri

Starting with 13 in 2010, Italy’s billionaires increased 177% in the past decade. Today, 19 of Italy’s 36 billionaires are self-made, including relative unknown newcomer Romano Minozzi. The 85-year-old is the founder and president of multinational ceramics company Iris Ceramica Group. However, he made most of his fortune through smart investments, such as in natural gas companies Snam and Italgas.