Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, remains the richest man in China and ranks 19 on the Hurun Global Rich List 2017. [File photo: diyitui.com]

For the second year in a row, the number of Chinese billionaires has surpassed that in the U.S., with 609 compared with 552, and tops this year's Hurun Global Rich List.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of the Hurun Report, said, "China and the USA have half the billionaires in the world."

Bill Gates tops this year's list, with an 81 billion US dollar fortune, followed by Warren Buffett with a wealth of 78 billion US dollars.

Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda, China's largest real estate developer, remains the richest man in China and is ranked 19 on the list, with a fortune of 30 billion US dollars, ahead of Jack Ma of Alibaba, and Ant Financial.

Wang Wei, chairman of SF Express, China's private logistic giant, is a dark horse on the list. He grew his wealth by a staggering 487 percent to 27 billion US dollars and took the third spot among Chinese billionaires.

　　Wang Wei, chairman of SF Express, takes third spot among Chinese billionaires on the Hurun Global Rich List 2017. [File photo: cnblogs.com]

Beijing remains the 'Billionaire Capital of the World' for the second successive year, followed by New York.

For four years in a row, technology has produced the most billionaires, ahead of manufacturing and investment.

Logistics and retail are expected to be the fastest growing sectors for billionaires this year.

Released on Tuesday, this year's Hurun Rich List ranks 2,257 billionaires from 68 countries.

The total wealth of the billionaires has increased 16 percent, amounting to 8 trillion US dollars, compared with last year.