Israel Gains More Billionaires, Breaking Into Top 20 Countries for Ultra-Rich Despite Gaza War

Despite concerns about the Israeli economy amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel added nine billionaires to its population over the last year, according to a new ranking.

The Hurun Report, a Shanghai- and Mumbai-based research firm, this week released its Global Rich List 2024, a ranking of the billionaires in the world in terms of US dollars. According to the findings, Israel broke into the top 20 countries for the ultra-rich with its new additions over the last year, which bring the Jewish state’s total number of billionaires to 29.

Interestingly, Israel ranked 18^th on the list — Chai, the Hebrew word for “life,” is associated with the number 18, which is considered a lucky number in Judaism.

The next highest amount for Middle Eastern countries were Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, ranked 20 and 22, respectively, making the Jewish state the home of the region’s most billionaires.

The richest Israeli was Miriam Adelson, widow of the late Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul and pro-Israel philanthropist who passed away in 2021. Her net worth was $35 billion, making her the 36th richest person in the world. Members of the Ofer family, real estate and shipping magnates, were also on the list of wealthiest Israelis.

The new ranking came at a time when Israel’s economy, though suffering through a war, has seen some levels of growth. For example, Israeli startups raised nearly $2 billion in the past 90 days, according to Startup Nation Center. Some investors have remarked that the funding activity in the country is the highest they have seen in years.

On the economic level, GDP dropped by nearly 20 percent in the final quarter of 2023, though economists have not warned of any serious recession risks — barring a massive flareup in Israel’s north — due to the fact that historically Israel’s economy has bounced back quickly following wars and disasters. Additionally, the country has a low debt ratio, meaning that the Bank of Israel can issue bonds to print more currency without inflicting serious long-term damage to the economy, experts say.

After Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and launched the war in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists — many of whom were ordinary citizens working civilian jobs — were called to service, putting a strain on the Israeli economy. However, many reservists have come home in recent weeks as Israel has made military gains on the ground.

Topping Hurun’s list was China, which lost 155 billionaires in 2023 but still maintained 814 in the country. Shortly behind was the US with 800. India sat well behind in third place with 271 billionaires.

According to the report, there are in total 3,279 billionaires in the world — 167 more than last year. The research agency attributes the boom in large part to artificial intelligence, which accounted for the work of more than half of the new billionaires.