The three richest people in the world are American. (Pictured: Oracle founder Larry Ellison).Ben Curtis/AP Images
- There are 1,542 billionaires in the world, according to a new report by UBS.
- More than 560 billionaires live in the US — the most of any country — and they control the most wealth.
- If current trends continue, the total wealth of Asia’s billionaires could overtake US billionaires in four years.
The number of commas in your net worth is a status symbol, and Americans have serious bragging rights.
According to a new report from Switzerland-based bank UBS, the US is home to the most billionaires — and billionaire wealth — of any country in the world.
But China and India are catching up quickly.
Three-fourths of the world’s newly-minted billionaires from 2016 are from China and India, according to UBS. The countries added 67 and 16, respectively, to their total billionaire count.
If these trends continue, it will take only four years for the total wealth of Asia’s billionaires to overtake US billionaires, according to UBS.
But for now, the US maintains the world’s largest concentration of billionaire wealth. A total of 563 American billionaires control $2.8 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion last year.
Keep reading to find out the top 14 countries with the most billionaires, and how many live there.