China's minting a new billionaire almost every week

Singapore

CHINA minted a new billionaire almost every week in the first quarter of this year.

The rich there, and in Asia as a whole, come younger than their global peers.

And, for the first time, these moneyed Asians have amassed more money through their own work than their counterparts in Europe.

At this rate, the Asian ultra-high net worth market will trump that in the US in as little as five years, said a report by UBS and PwC on Tuesday.

Antony Eldridge, partner and financial-services leader at PwC, told the media that the report reflected the shift "from old world to new world".

In just two decades, 917 self-made billionaires made more than US$3.6 trillion, with most of them hitting this milestone after their 40th birthday.

Asian billionaires are, on average, aged 57 - about a decade younger than their global peers.

The report was based on data covering the 14 largest billionaire markets and more than 1,300 billionaires, who account for three-quarters of billionaires' wealth globally.

The report suggested that this period of "extraordinary wealth generation" may soon slow down, though it will likely level off first in the West. "The response to rising inequality, increasing taxes and asset price deflation may all play a part in slowing the current cycle," it added.

But Tan Min Lan, chief investment officer for the Asia-Pacific of UBS Wealth Management, told reporters that billionaires here are running businesses in Asia that are reaping "demographic dividends" with the rise of the middle class.

About one in five self-made Asian billionaires made their pile in the consumer sector.

In the US, the financial sector produces the most billionaires, followed by the technology sector. However, Silicon Valley billionaires have higher net worth - US$7.8 billion on average - than their counterparts in the financial sector, who have an average worth of US$4.5 billion.

Joseph Poon, head of ultra-high net worth in South-east Asia at UBS, said there could be greater co-relation between billionaires' wealth and financial markets today as they "securitise the wealth" through initial public offerings, but the ultra-rich in Asia benefit overall from structural benefits.

"The billionaires are very smart at cashing out," he added.

The UBS-PwC report also debunks a common myth about entrepreneurs and their propensity to drop out of school.

Eight in 10 billionaires hold a college degree.