China passes U.S. for number of billionaires

(ANSA) - Rome, October 15 - A survey has found China has passed the United States in the number of billionaires, driven by the rise of fortunes in information technology and manufacturing.
    The Hurun Report, which follows China's wealthy, said Thursday that the number of mainland Chinese billionaires rose by 242 this year to 596. It said that surpassed the 537 the company found in the United States.
    No. 1 on this year's list was Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, which operates hotels, shopping malls and cinemas, at $34.4 billion. No. 2 was Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, at $22.7 billion.
    New additions to the list include Cheng Wei of taxi-hailing app Didi-Kuaidi.