The 15 top countries for billionaires, ranked by how many live there

Even though billionaires can pretty much choose to live wherever they want to in the world, it seems like most of them prefer the same few places.

There are 1,732 billionaires in the world currently. 15 countries dominated in terms of how many of them live there, according to the M&A broker firm Latona's , which analyzed five years of a wealth report compiled by the real estate company Knight Frank .

Take a look at which countries worldwide have the most billionaires, ranked in ascending order.

15. Australia, 34 billionaires

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The number of billionaires residing in Australia has increased by 55% over the last five years.

But while a metropolitan city like Sydney might seem like the ideal place, many of the nation's richest actually prefer a suburb right outside Melbourne.

The area, called Toorak, houses 23 of the 250 richest people in Australia, according to MailOnline .

=13. Taiwan, 35 billionaires

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In the last five years, Taiwan has gained eight billionaires.

Most of the country's billionaires are self-made, according to Taiwan News , with less than a third relying on a family fortune. Their combined wealth stands at $85.5 billion.

=13. Japan, 35 billionaires

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Japan's list of billionaires more than doubled in the last five years.

The richest of the rich there Tadashi Yanai, founder of fashion company Fast Retailing and an influential board member of Softbank. His estimated net worth is $31.4 billion.

According to Forbe s, there are 45 current billionaires were born in Japan, but they don't all stay there.

Source: Latonas, Forbes

12. Switzerland, 36 billionaires

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Switzerland saw the second-highest percentage increase in billionaires over 5 years, almost tripling its billionaire population since 2015.

11. France, 40 billionaires

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The number of billionaires in France is up 67% in five years.

The personal fortunes of French billionaires have grown at more than twice the pace of American and Chinese billionaires in the first half of 2019, Business Insider reported in July 2019 .

10. Italy, 43 billionaires

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Italy more than doubled its number in the last five years.

The nation's richest man is Giovanni Ferrero, the secretive billionaire behind the Ferrero Group, makers of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates .

He has an estimated net worth of $32 billion, according to Bloomberg.

9. South Korea, 44 billionaires

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Five years ago, there were only 24 billionaires in South Korea. The figure is now almost twice that.

On top of this list is the chairman of Samsung Group, Lee Kun-Hee, who is worth an estimated $20.3 billion, according to Forbes .

8. Canada, 46 billionaires

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The average billionaire family in Canada is worth $3 billion. Together they have as much wealth as three Canadian provinces combined, according to Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower .

7. UK, 54 billionaires

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Despite its size, the UK is home to 54 billionaires, including the likes of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Alan Sugar, and Sir James Dyson.

The Hinduja brothers, shareholders, and chairmen of Hinduja Group, top this list with a net worth of $31.7 billion, according to The Guardian.

6. Hong Kong, 64 billionaires

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Hong Kong, which has gained 24 more billionaires in the last five years, has some of the most expensive real estate in the world, Business Insider's Katie Warren reported .

5. Russia, 101 billionaires

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Russia is the only country on this list to see a decrease in billionaires, from 110 in 2013 to 101 in 2018.

4. India, 119 billionaires

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In the last five years, India has seen a large increase of 116% to the number of billionaires living in its cities. Mumbai is the most favored city amongst billionaires in the country, according to The Times of India .

3. Germany, 123 billionaires.

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Germany is Europe's largest economy, and has its largest number of billionaires too.

The 11 richest Germans are worth a combined $197 billion .

2. China, 373 billionaires.

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China's booming economy produced a 206% increase in the number of billionaires there within just five years.

China's richest man is Alibaba founder Jack Ma , with a net worth of $39 billion.

1. US, 585 billionaires

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Number of billionaires : 585

The US remains the world hub for billionaires.

With the likes of Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, totaling a net worth of almost $300 billion, it is no surprise the US is home to so many high-net-worth individuals.