China's capital city Beijing has dethroned the United States' New York City as the city with the largest number of billionaires for the first time in history, according to China-based firm Hurun.

A report by Hurun reveals that there are now 100 billionaires living in Beijing compared with the 95 in New York City. Meanwhile, Shanghai comes in fifth place.

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The private research firm arrived at the ranking by combining data from publicly traded companies as well as interviews. Other firms like Forbes and Bloomberg utilize different methods and also arrive at varying results.

According to Hurun's research, Beijing welcomed 32 new billionaires in 2015, making it possible for the city to surpass New York, which only saw four new billionaires.

All in all, China has ousted the United States on the top spot - although the top 10 list of billionaires by Hurun is still being largely dominated by Americans. However, of note, on per country basis, China, with 568 billionaires, after recently adding 90 new ones, now surpasses the United States with 535.

If all the wealth of these Chinese billionaires is combined, it is equivalent to Australia's GDP, with a net worth amounting to $1.4 trillion (£1.01 trillion).

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun's chairman, highlighted the increase in the number of wealthy Chinese people despite the reported global financial crisis and the economic slowdown.

According to Hurun, Wang Jianlin still holds the title as China's richest man with an estimated net worth at $26 billion (£18.8 billion).  However, he is still far away from Bill Gates, who topped Hurun's top 10 billionaire list, with a net worth of $80 billion, followed by Warren Buffet at $68 billion. 

TagsBeijing, New York City, hurun report, Chinese Billionaires, wang jianlin, Bill Gates, warren buffet