7 things we learned from the 2016 Richest People in China report
7 things we learned from the 2016 Richest People in China report
More billionaires in China than the US now
New names appeared side-by-side with veteran business magnates in the latest “Richest People in China” report released Thursday by Shanghai-based luxury magazine publisher Hurun. A total of 2,056 individuals qualified in this year’s list of Chinese individuals whose minimum net worth stands at CNY2 billion (USD297 million).
Hurun’s rich list has ballooned by 179 individuals from last year and double that of three years ago. The increase is particularly remarkable given China’s economic slowdown as well as the 20 percent drop in its domestic stock markets, Hurun researchers noted.
Here are seven of the biggest talking points from the report:
1. Make way for “hostile takeover king” Yao Zhenhua
One of the most remarkable insights from the report is the expeditious rise of Yao Zhenhua. The 46-year old chairman of property and insurance conglomerate Baoneng powered 200 places up the list to become China’s fourth richest person, with a net worth of USD17.2 billion. Yao vaulted to public consciousness this year with his highly publicised takeover of property developer Vanke. “Yao’s financial investment model represents the new wave of wealth creation in China,” said Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf.
2. Wang Jianlin and Jack Ma are the richest men in China
Wang Jianlin, chair of property giant Dalian Wanda, and Jack Ma, the storied founder of e-commerce titan Alibaba, are the richest persons in China, in that order. Despite a 2 percent drop in his net worth, Wang remains the country’s wealthiest person with riches of USD32.1 billion. Ma’s net worth, meanwhile, has grown 41 percent in the past year to USD30.6 billion, making him the second richest man in China.
In third place is Pony Ma, founder of Internet company Tencent. His net worth has risen 38 percent to USD24.6 billion, even though he gave USD2.1 billion to charity in the past year.
3. New arrivals
There were new entrants besides Yao in the uppermost tier of Hurun’s rich list. Netease’s Ding Lei, Evergrande’s Xu Jiayin, and Midea’s He Xiangjian now rank among the 10 richest people in China.
Elsewhere in the top 100, two new names have arrived: “Shaver and Hairdryer King” Li Gaiteng and Chi Yufeng, founder of video game company Perfect World.
4. There are now more billionaires in China than the US
Around 754 dollar billionaires in the world are Chinese; 66 are in Southeast Asia. Mainland China alone has 594, compared with 535 in the US.
More: USD3.9 trillion in global wealth to be passed down in next 10 years
5. A great year for wealthy individuals in the property, IT and finance industries
Total wealth from the list rose 7 percent, in line with China’s GDP growth. “If you look at absolute wealth on the Hurun Rich List, it has come from three main sources: real estate, driven by China urbanization program, IT, driven by the digitalization of the country, and manufacturing, based on China’s early export model,” said Hoogewerf.
“Today it is about using the capital markets for financial investments,” he added.
6. More women are becoming billionaires
Around 24 percent of Hurun’s list consist of women, a 3 percent increase from last year. Dubbed the “Real Estate Queen” of Beijing, Fuwah founder Chen Lihua is the 20th richest person in China, with a net worth of USD7.54 billion.
7. Young billionaires are on the rise
Three individuals, born in the 1990s, placed in this year’s list. Around 181 individuals are under age 40, most notably Jack Wang Qicheng, 36-year-old founder of IT company Hakim, and Frank Wang Tao, 35-year-old founder of drone maker DJI.
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Source: Property Report