Asia now has more billionaires than the US

One billionaire created every three weeks in China: UBS

The world’s wealthiest individuals are on a roll, with billionaires in Asia leading the pack.

Billionaire wealth increased 17 per cent to $6 trillion in 2016, after a decline the previous year, UBS Group AG and PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report issued on Thursday. Led by China, the number of the region’s billionaires surpassed the US for the first time.

But don’t shed a tear for the richest folks in the US: American billionaires still control the most wealth at $2.8 trillion. The gain in total billionaire wealth was twice the 8.5 per cent increase of the MSCI AC World Index.

Asia’s economic