BEIJING: The number of dollar billionaires in mainland China has passed 300 for the first time, an annual ranking of wealth in the world’s second-largest economy showed on Wednesday.

The Hurun Report, a luxury magazine publisher, named property tycoon Wang Jianlin as China’s new richest person, saying he had more than doubled his worth to $22 billion.

There were a total of 315 dollar billionaires in the country, it said, up 64 from a year ago.

The average fortune of the top 1,000 stood at $1.04 billion — more than double their $440 million during the global financial crisis five years ago.

But some were dogged by scandal.

Three of last year’s 10 richest people in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, have been detained amid a corruption crackdown in the province.

Two others on the list are in prison, while Xu Ming, who joined this year at No 676 with $490m, was a key witness against Bo Xilai last month in China’s biggest political corruption trial in decades.

According to court transcripts, Xu said he gave the former senior politician 21m yuan ($3.4m) in bribes, including purchasing a villa in the French resort of Cannes for Bo’s wife.—AFP