Asia Briefing: Despite some cooling measures, property market still the road to riches in China

China got substantially richer last year, adding 41 new billionaires over the 12 months for a total of 358, with the property market still the best way to make money despite cooling measures, according to the Hurun Global Rich List.

The US is still home to the most billionaires.

It added 72 new billionaires last year, bringing its total to 481.

However, six of the world's 10 top property tycoons are now from China and Hong Kong, according to the Hurun Report.

Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing was also richest man in Greater China, with his fortune rising three per cent to 200 billion yuan (€23.56 billion).

In joint second place were Wang Jianlin, chairman of China's largest commercial property developer, Dalian Wanda Group, and Lui Che-Woo, founder of casino operator, Galaxy Entertainment Group, with each claiming personal wealth of 150 billion yuan (€17.69 billion).

Wang’s fortune doubled last year, while Lui’s wealth jumped by 108 per cent, the report said.

Of the 358 billionaires, 56 are members of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and 31 are members of National People’s Congress (NPC), both of which are meeting this week in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Tech tycoons such as Jack Ma of Alibaba Group and Lei Jun of Xiaomi were also among the leaders.

Fifty-seven Chinese billionaires come from Beijing, while 24 are from Shanghai and 27 from Shenzhen, the report said. Sixty-five billionaires are from Hong Kong.