2017 was a fire year for the super rich, with China seeing a new billionaire every 5 days

A recent report from PwC demonstrates that the world’s billionaires are doing just fine in the current financial landscape. After billionaire wealth fell in 2016, the richest people in the world are back to business as usual this year with Asian billionaires outnumbering their American counterparts for the first time.

The report broke down the general rise in billionaire wealth and the specific trend of Asian real estate markets,

“Total billionaire wealth rose by 17 percent from USD 5.1 trillion to USD 6.0 trillion in 2016, led by a surge in Asia’s emerging billionaire class and growth in the materials, industrials, financial and technology sectors. On average, a new billionaire was created in Asia every two days, with the total number of Asian billionaires rising by almost a quarter to 637, compared to 563 in the US.”

And while America still has the most concentrated wealth, Asian billionaires are backed by a seemingly limitless property market. Josef Stadler, Head Global Net Worth at UBS, spoke to Today about the trend in billionaire wealth,

“This year we have seen not only a return to growth for billionaire wealth, but also a significant shift in its geographic dimensions. Dramatic growth in Asian wealth shows it could overtake the US in just four years.”

The growth in the Asian real estate market has seen companies like China Evergrande Group, the biggest developer in the country, rise 534 percent in one year. Alan Jin, property analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia told Today about the cyclical nature of the market,

“It’s like a self-reinforcing theme — the more property stocks rally, the more buyers are confident on the consolidation theme that’s benefiting the largest players.”

The rich keep getting richer throughout the world. While billionaires are seeing the bucks roll in, the world’s wealth is as concentrated as ever.

Late capitalism is sketch.