At a time when there is an international debate over the value of immigrants to their host country, a global report reveals that 13 per cent of world’s billionaires are immigrants.

While the US is the most popular destination, immigrants from Germany and India account for the most number of billionaires, according to TheHurun Immigrant Billionaires List 2017.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said, “Immigration is polarising nations today, playing a key part in Brexit, Trump’s election and the current Dutch, French and German elections. This report is designed to give an insight into how immigrants have contributed to global wealth creation, creating new jobs and tax revenues in the countries they have immigrated to.”

The list found 300 billionaires in 44 countries, who have migrated from 67 other countries. They had an average wealth of $3.8 billion. Thirty of the 300 are women, led by Charlene Carvalho, born in the Netherlands and living in London.

The most successful self-made female billionaire is ‘Chinese Restaurant Queen’ Peggy Cherng, born in Myanmar, now living in California. Nearly 35 per cent of Indian immigrant billionaires are in the UAE.

Thirty billionaires on the Hurun Global Rich List came from India and now live in different countries with the UAE and UK the preferred residences.

This includes Lakshmi Mittal, who left India aged 26 to set up a steel plant in Indonesia, before moving to the UK. The Reuben brothers were born in Mumbai, before migrating to Iraq and today live in the UK.

MA Yusuff Ali was born in Kerala before moving to Abu Dhabi. Micky Jagtiani was born in India, immigrated first to London before settling in the UAE.

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