Bloomberg

Asian billionaires including India’s Mukesh Ambani and Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing increased their wealth as the region’s rich expanded their fortunes at the world’s quickest pace in the past year, Forbes magazine said.

Asia’s billionaires have a combined worth of $729 billion, up from $357 billion a year ago, Forbes said in an e-mailed statement. The wealth of their U.S. and European peers jumped 18 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Faster economic expansion in countries such as China and India has boosted personal wealth as the U.S. and Europe stagnated or shrank. Resuming growth in Asia’s capital markets also helped swell the ranks of billionaires, with initial public offerings raising $41 billion in the region in 2009, excluding Japan and Australia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“For the first time, mainland China has the most billionaires outside the U.S.,” Forbes said in the statement. “U.S. citizens still dominate the ranks, but their grip is slipping.”

The number of Asian billionaires increased to 234 from 130 a year earlier, with China and India leading the way. Asia’s share of global billionaires jumped 7 percentage points over the year to 23 percent, Forbes said.

Mukesh, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., is the top billionaire in Asia. His global standing rose to fourth from seventh place a year earlier after his net worth increased almost 50 percent to $29 billion, Forbes said.

Mittal, Li

He is followed by Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker. Global economic recovery boosted the company’s share price, expanding Mittal’s personal wealth by almost 50 percent to $28.7 billion, making him the world’s fifth-richest person.

Li Ka-shing of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. grew his wealth by 30 percent to $21 billion, placing him 14th globally and third in Asia. He was 16th worldwide a year earlier.

The number of Chinese billionaires surged to 64 from 28, while India’s billionaire club swelled from 24 to 49.

Zong Qinghou, chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., is mainland China’s richest person. His personal wealth almost quadrupled to $7 billion, lifting his global ranking to 103th from 376th a year earlier.

China’s economy expanded 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter and India 6 percent. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advanced 34 percent last year, outstripping the 27 percent gain of MSCI World Index.

--Editors: Malcolm Scott, Brett Miller