Aerial photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows a view of the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The number of households with assets exceeding six million yuan ($833,000) each, or “affluent families”, in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area reached 1.24 million last year, according to the latest Hurun report.

For households with assets of more than 10 million yuan and 100 million yuan – “high- net-worth” and “ultra-high-net worth” families – the number exceeded 510,000 and 30,000, respectively, the Hurun Wealth Report 2023 released on Tuesday said.

Guangdong had the highest number of “high-net-worth families” in 2023, although the figure fell by 2.2 percent to 300,000, compared to the previous year

Among cities in the Greater Bay Area, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has the most affluent, high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families, followed by Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

READ MORE: Hong Kong's affluent become millionaires at 33 on average

“Overseas assets account for one-sixth of the investable assets of China’s high-net-worth groups, with Hong Kong and Singapore as the hotspots for overseas investments,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report Inc.

Guangdong had the highest number of “high-net-worth families” in 2023, although the figure fell by 2.2 percent to 300,000, compared to the previous year. 

More than half of the “high-net-worth households” were business owners, with their businesses accounting for more than 60 percent of their total assets, while about one-third were white-collar professionals, and 8 percent were professional stock market investors.

“Wealth inheritance has become a mainstream topic at present. Within the next 10 years, an estimated 21 trillion yuan of wealth will be passed down to the next generation in China. Within the next 20 years, the number is projected to reach 49 trillion yuan, and 84 trillion yuan within the next 30 years,” Hoogewerf said.

READ MORE: Family offices set to reshape wealth management landscape

In general, the national total of affluent families slipped by 0.8 percent to 5.14 million, while the number of “high-net worth families” and “ultra-high-net worth families” fell by 1.3 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Hoogewerf said the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as evolving international geopolitical dynamics in 2022, have led to greater uncertainties in the global economy’s development. Family wealth in major countries has been affected to a various extent.

He quoted a report by global consultancy Knight Frank as saying that the total wealth held by ultra-high-net-worth individuals–those with a personal net worth of $30 million or more – has dropped by 10 percent.

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com