Canada has the 12th most billionaires in the world: report

Canada has risen in the ranks of billionaires, a new report has found.

According to the latest Billionaire Census from research institute Wealth-X, Canada added seven billionaires in 2020, bringing the country’s total to 53.

With a combined wealth of US$100 billion, the new recruits have pushed Canada up the ranks of billionaire counties.

Canada now has the 13th most billionaires in the world, up from 14th place last year.

Although Canada has the same number of billionaires as Brazil—which took 12th place—their billionaires have US$51 billion more.

Similarly, billionaires in the United Arab Emirates, which came in 14th, also have US$51 billion more than Canadian billionaires, but there are only 50 of them.

The top spot went to the United States. Their 927 billionaires have a combined wealth of over US$3.7 trillion.

Now in its eighth iteration, the Billionaire Census analyzes the status of the world’s billionaires.

“Despite being modest in number, [they] hold immense wealth and wield a significant influence over the global economy,” the report reads.

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Wealth-X noted the number of global billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time in 2020. There are now 3,204 billionaires in the world, with a combined wealth of $10 trillion.

According to the report, the 670 people that became billionaires in 2020 are generally younger, less wealthy—albeit still billionaires—and are more likely to be entrepreneurs than the “general” billionaire population.

“The global pandemic delivered a windfall to billionaire wealth, boosted by the flood of monetary stimulus and swelling profits in key sectors that coined a new wave of younger, self-made billionaires,” Wealth-X said.

“In a period of intense economic and social strain, surging wealth gains among the extremely wealthy contrasted sharply with the increased unemployment, rising health fears, and falling incomes experienced by many non-wealthy individuals.”

The top 15 billionaire countries for 2020 are:

1. US: 927 billionaires, combined wealth of US$3.709 trillion
2. China: 410, US$1.303 trillion
3. Germany: 174, US$515 billion
4. Russia: 120, US$397 billion
5. UK: 119, US$225 billion
6. Hong Kong: 111 US$282 billion
7. Switzerland: 107, US$318 billion
8. India: 104, US$316 billion
9. Saudia Arabia: 64, US$144 billion
10.  France: 64, US$238 billion
11.  Italy: 60, US$169 billion
12.  Brazil: 53, US$151 billion
13.  Canada: 53, US$100 billion
14.  United Arab Emirates: 50, US$151 billion
15.  Singapore: 50, US$86 billion

Wealth-X considers Hong Kong as a “semi-autonomous, special administrative region of China.”