In the latest Hurun Rich List, China overtook the United States in the race of having the most number of billionaires in the world. Released by the Hurun Research Institute, the rich list tallied Chinese billionaires to a total of 596.
In the recent list, Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, earned the title of being the wealthiest person in mainland China, taking the throne from Alibaba CEO Jack Ma.
According to Hurun Research Institute, which is based in Shanghai, 242 people were added to China's roster of billionaires for 2015. Chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf attributes this to the surge the Chinese stock market experienced earlier this year.
"The growth in the number of billionaires indicates China's growing influence in the international community," Hoogewerf said.
To qualify as a rich-list billionaire, the individual must have a total wealth of 2 billion yuan or roughly $310 million.
According to China Daily, 1,877 people made it to the list.
The total wealth of the people in the Hurun Rich List totaled $2.1 trillion, an amount much larger than India's or Russia's GDP.
Most of the new billionaires came from China's growing manufacturing and information technology industries, which is in line with the country's "Made in China 2025" policy. Also, 90 percent of the companies in these sectors are listed companies.
Another source of wealth is the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the New Third Board. Fourteen new billionaires came from eight companies listed on the board, including JD Capital Co. Ltd. This made founder and Chairman Wu Gang enter the list as the billionaire with the fastest-growing wealth.
Meanwhile, China's real-estate industry produced the least number of billionaires at just 16.1 percent.