New Delhi, January 1 (ANI): China has reportedly become the country with the second largest population of billionaires in the world, just behind the US.

The number of Chinese entrepreneurs, who have assets worth more than one billion dollars, has reached 146, compared to 85 in the previous year.

It became evident when a list of 2007s top 500 Chinese magnates was released in Hong Kong, reports the China Daily.

Made by World Entrepreneur magazine, the list revealed that the combined wealth of the 500 magnates exceeded 587 billion dollars.

A Yangcheng Evening News report says that the list included entrepreneurs in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

The Kwok brothers of Sun Hung Kai Properties in Hong Kong topped the list.

The report suggests that there are more than 18,000 people in the country who have more than a hundred million yuan in wealth, and 440,000 people with 10 million.

The newspaper report attributes this increase in Chinese entrepreneurs to a boom in the stock and property markets. (ANI)