Business: Top 10 Countries With The Most Billionaires

Follow @RhippleMedia  

I Wanna be a BILLIONAIRE so freaking bad......
No offence to Aliko and Patrice, but you guys ain't the only game in town - Africa not on this map....might be smart to move to Brazil

10. Canada
 No. of billionaires: 40

According to Wealth-X, Canada has 40 billionaires, worth a combined total of $105 billion. Some of those billionaires, though, are worth a lot more than others: inaugural eBay president Jeffrey Skoll has a net worth of $3.3 billion; telecom giants the Rogers family clock in at $5.94 billion; and Thomson Reuters luminaries David Thomson (above) and family are worth $17.5 billion, according to Forbes.

9. Brazil
 No. of billionaires: 49

Brazil’s most notable billionaires are from the mining biz, and don’t carry much name recognition outside Latin America. But the nation’s richest sure carry fat wallets. According to Wealth-X, while there are only 49 Brazilian billionaires, they hold a total net worth of $300 billion – good for an average fortune north of $6 billion each. Of all the nations to appear on this list, Brazil’s billionaires hold the highest net worth, on average. Eike Batista, pictured, was recently names by Forbes as the richest Brazilian in the world.

8. Switzerland
No. of billionaires: 57

Switzerland is a haven for wealth, and perhaps it’s appropriate the tiny nation of just eight million holds nearly 60 billionaires, the fourth-highest number in Europe. In fact, despite its low population, Switzerland also has 5,597 people with a net worth exceeding $30 million, the third highest number in Europe. Switzerland’s most famous billionaire may have been the late Richard Louis-Dreyfus, a member of the wealthy Louis-Dreyfus family and cousin of “Seinfeld” actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

7. Hong Kong
No. of billionaires: 64

Hong Kong’s super rich have enjoyed better years. Last year, according to Wealth-X, there were 530 so-called ultra high net worth persons (with a net worth over $30 million) in Hong Kong, compared to just 470 this year. That’s still plenty, but the entire wealth of Hong Kong’s ultra high net worth population dropped a woeful 11.3 per cent over the previous year, too. According to Forbes, Li Ka-shing, pictured, is the richest person in Hong Kong, with a worth of $22 billion.

6. Russia
No. of billionaires: 97

Russia’s rich population is decidedly top heavy. Almost one-tenth of the nation’s ultra high net worth persons (those worth $30 million or more) are billionaires, a ratio that is one of the highest in the world. Of course, Russia’s billionaires are men of power, magnates of mining, oil and steel like Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, and Roman Abramovich (above), the Chelsea Football Club boss and man behind the famous $600 million Eclipse yacht.

5. India
No. of billionaires: 109

It wasn’t a sterling year for India’s billionaires. The nation lost six billionaires year-over-year, as well as 7.3 per cent of the demographic’s wealth. A rough year, perhaps, but chances are the country’s richest men, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, and energy and materials honcho Mukesh Ambani (above), the owner of the most expensive home in the world, will survive just fine.

4. Germany
No. of billionaires: 137

Germany is the European nation with the most high net worth persons – 15,770 people with fortunes exceeding $30 million, over 5,000 more than U.K., the second-place country. And among those 15,000-plus are 137 billionaires, who combined hold a fortune of $550 billion. Germany’s richest man, supermarket magnate Karl Albrecht, is worth $25.4 billion, according to Forbes.

3. U.K.
 No. of billionaires: 140

The British have their share of the famously rich, including pop culture icons like Paul McCartney and J.K. Rowling. Perhaps no Brit best encompasses English wealth, however, better than Sir Richard Branson (above), the outlandish Virgin Group chairman worth more than $4 billion by Forbes’ estimates. Branson is one of 140 billionaires in the U.K., the nation that boasts the most in all of Europe.

2. China
No. of billionaires: 147

It’s fitting that the world’s second-largest economy is also the planet’s second-largest source of billionaires. Interestingly, China’s wealth is quite top heavy. According to Wealth-X, China has 147 billionaires, but only 70 people with fortunes between $750 million and $999 million. With a fortune worth $12.6 billion, Zong Qinghou, pictured, was recently names China’s richest person by the Hurun Report.

1. U.S.
No. of billionaires: 480

Surprise, surprise. Scroll up and down the annual Forbes rich list and you’re bound to see more Americans than not, but it is truly amazing how many more billionaires the U.S. has than other countries. There are 12 times more American billionaires than Canadian ones, for example, besides a population that is only nine times bigger. The state with the most high net worth persons (those with fortunes over $30 million) in the country is California, where tech billionaires like Larry Ellison (above), Mark Zuckerberg and the Google boys, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, call home.