The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Asia has the world’s most billionaires Posted: 28 Feb 2013 07:34 AM PST BEIJING, Feb 28 — Asia has more billionaires than any other continent, a survey by a China-based wealth magazine showed today, apparently overtaking North America for the first time.
Asia had 608 billionaires, North America 440 and Europe 324, it said in a statement. It is believed to be the first time Asia has been named as home of the largest proportion of super-rich on any global list. US business magazine Forbes said in its most recent international rich list, published in March last year, that the Asia-Pacific region had 315 billionaires, compared to 450 from North America and 310 in Europe. Among individual countries, the United States and China dominated the Hurun list, with 408 and 317 billionaires respectively, followed by Russia, Germany and India. Mexican telecoms czar Carlos Slim, 73, was ranked as the "Richest Man on the Planet" with a personal fortune of US$66 billion. Slim also topped last year's Forbes global list. US investor Warren Buffett and Amancio Ortega of Spain, founder of fashion brand Zara, were second and third in the Hurun Report rankings, with a net worth of US$58 billion and US$55 billion respectively. Hong Kong investor Li Ka-shing kept his title of Asia's richest man with US$32 billion, the seventh wealthiest person in the world. "In China we've seen a huge urbanisation boom and that has created a lot of wealth in property," Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, told AFP. Zong Qinghou, who heads soft-drink producer Wahaha, and Wang Jianlin of property developer Wanda were the only two from mainland China to make it into the top 100. The Hurun Report estimated the total wealth of the world's dollar billionaires at US$5.5 trillion, roughly the size of the Japanese economy last year. "This past year has seen a rebound in the wealth of the private sector," it said, adding the net assets of the 10 richest people on the list rose 22 per cent over the year, or US$250 million a day. Real estate, telecommunications, media and technology and retail were the most common sources of wealth, it added. Moscow has more billionaires than any other city in the world with 76, it said, edging out New York, Hong Kong, Beijing and London. Hoogewerf said the true number of billionaires in the world could be three times higher as some super-rich hid their worth. "Some people deliberately make their wealth a secret because... they gained it through illegal ways," he told reporters at a press conference. "Some others simply prefer to keep a low profile." Hoogewerf, an accountant by training, previously compiled the Forbes rich list. He said the survey methods included examining public information such as stock market reports, scouring artwork purchase records and tracking down philanthropical activities. — AFP/Relaxnews |
| Pessimists live longer, study shows Posted: 28 Feb 2013 07:23 AM PST BERLIN, Feb 28 — Older people who look on the darker side of life tend to live longer than optimists, who in turn face an increased risk of illness and mortality, a new study by a German research institute found today.
"It is possible that a pessimistic outlook leads elderly people to look after themselves and their health better and take greater precautions against risks," said one of the researchers, Frieder Lang. "It seems that older people who have a low expectation of how contented they will be in future lead longer and healthier lives than those who believe their future is rosy," DIW said. The study was conducted by a team from the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, the Berlin-based DIW as well as Humboldt University in Berlin and the university of Zurich. They analysed long-term data compiled between 1993 and 2003 where the same people belonging to three different age groups were asked every year to assess their current level of life satisfaction and how contented they expected to be in five years. Over the 10-year period the researchers checked with each participant six times whether their expected level of satisfaction tallied with reality five years on. Results showed 25 per cent of older participants realistically estimated their future contentment, while around 43 per cent underestimated it and 32 per cent overestimated, the DIW said. Young adults mostly had an unrealistically rosy view of their future while middle-aged people were largely spot on, it said. — AFP/Relaxnews |
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