China's millionaire number crosses million mark

The number of millionaires in China crossed a million mark for the first in the Communist nation, putting it in the elite club of the wealthy nations like US and Japan.

The elite millionaires group includes 63,500 billionaires, according to Hurun Report, a Chinese event and publishing group which compiled the China's list of the rich.

The number of Chinese worth more than 10 million yuan (USD 1.6 million) broke the million mark in 2011 for the first time, with 1.02 million people now in this elite group.

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Of these million-plus wealthy individuals, 84 per cent are concentrated in the eastern, northern and southern regions of China, with Beijing home to the greatest number, at 1.79 lakh millionaires.

Rising property prices and a fast-growing gross domestic product helped drive up the number of wealthy Chinese in 2011, according to the report.

The Hurun Report, founded by Rupert Hoogewerf, is a magazine best known for its "China Rich List," a ranking of China's wealthiest individuals.

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The growing numbers of millionaires is contributing the growth of luxury products in China, it said.

"For most luxury brands, the Chinese luxury consumer is now Number One: either representing the biggest market share or the fastest-growing," Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report said.

China has emerged as the world's second largest economy, recording the fastest pace of development due to reform process.