The inside track on billionaires

There are 2,325 billionaires worldwide—that’s the highest number ever recorded, finds a Wealth-X UBS survey.

There are 155 more billionaires now than in 2013. The entire group has a combined net worth of U.S.$7.3 trillion.

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And where they are might surprise you. The survey shows New York is the city with the most billionaires, at 103, America is the single country with the most billionaires, at 571, and Europe’s 775 members of the ultra-wealthy make it the single most concentrated region. But eight of the top 20 cities with billionaires are in Asia. They are Shenzen, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore and Mumbai.

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It takes 45 years for the average billionaire to accumulate his or her wealth. While you would think being a billionaire would entitle one not to work, many still do. In fact, most billionaires have either made their fortunes entirely on their own, or built on an existing inheritance.

And the majority of uber-wealthy are have $1 billion to $2 billion, while just four have over $50 billion. On average, they give away more than $100 million of their wealth to charity.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.