10 Facts About 1,000 Chinese Billionaires

By Chen Zhiyan

The movement of wealth always captures attention. This morning, news that Yiming Zhang had become China's richest person with a fortune of 350 billion yuan spread across the internet. He is the 18th person to top the Hurun Rich List in its 25-year history, and the first self-made "post-80s" billionaire to do so.

In 1999, a 29-year-old Rupert Hoogewerf introduced the concept of wealth rankings to China. The inaugural richest person was Rong Yiren, followed by William Ding, Huang Guangyu, Wang Chuanfu, Zong Qinghou, Wang Jianlin, Jack Ma, Xu Jiayin, and Zhong Shanshan, each taking turns at the top. This 25-year chronicle of wealth has become a footnote to China's industrial transformation and capital market fluctuations.

Hoogewerf's original vision was "to tell Chinese entrepreneurs' stories to the world." Now, he tells Anyong Waves that the list's greater significance lies in "promoting the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem through the power of role models."

In recent years, as state capital has become the dominant theme in markets, questions about "what position private economy should hold in the broader commercial world" and "how to view entrepreneurs' personal wealth" have attracted considerable attention.

Parallel to the accumulation of private entrepreneurs' personal wealth is the modernization of Chinese commercial society. For an economy still in its growth phase, we continually need a more mature entrepreneurial spirit.

On October 10, the Ministry of Justice and the National Development and Reform Commission published the Draft Law on the Promotion of Private Economy of the People's Republic of China (Exposure Draft) on their portals for public comment. As China's first foundational law specifically dedicated to private economic development, it means that requirements for equal protection and equal treatment of private enterprises will finally be implemented at the legal level, enhancing the sense of security and development confidence of private enterprises and entrepreneurs.

In 2015, before he was widely recognized, Yiming Zhang once answered what wealth meant to him: "Wealth is not the primary goal of what I do, but money can still be used to create some space and time for freedom. So I feel that wealth means freedom to me."

On the occasion of the Hurun Research Institute's release of the 2024 Hengchang Shaofang · Hurun China Rich List, Anyong Waves spoke with Hoogewerf and uncovered ten facts about China's 1,000 wealthiest individuals this year.

The Pressure and Vitality of China's Economy

The total wealth of listed entrepreneurs reached 21 trillion yuan, down 10% or 2.4 trillion from last year. 2024 marks the first time in the 25-year history of the Hurun Rich List that total entrepreneur wealth has declined for three consecutive years. 1,094 entrepreneurs with personal fortunes of 5 billion yuan or more made the list, 147 fewer than last year. Among them, there were 26 centi-billionaires, down by 4; and 753 billionaires (in USD terms), down by 142.

The real estate sector's representation on the list dropped sharply — accounting for 20% a decade ago, 15% five years ago, and just 9% this year.

However, compared to five years ago, the number of listees has still grown by 25%. Half were not on the list five years ago, and nearly 80% were not on it a decade ago.

Changes at the Top in a Single Year

Within 2024 alone, the title of richest person changed hands several times. At the start of the year it was Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring. Mid-year, Colin Huang briefly claimed the top spot thanks to Temu's strong performance. Now, 41-year-old Yiming Zhang has become the 18th richest person in China in 26 years.

Yiming Zhang is the 18th richest person in China over the past 25 years. During the same period, the United States has had only 4: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.

Who Rode the Growth Rocket?

This year, Changpeng Zhao of cryptocurrency exchange Binance saw his wealth increase by 90 billion yuan year-over-year, making him one of the biggest gainers.

In September 2024, Midea Group's Hong Kong IPO boosted the He Xiangjian family's wealth by 35 billion yuan. Wang Xuning, whose parent company JS Global Lifestyle owns Joyoung, gained 22 billion yuan thanks to the outstanding overseas performance of SharkNinja, the American small appliance giant acquired in 2017.

In pharmaceuticals, Zhong Huijuan of Hansoh Pharmaceutical grew her wealth by 35 billion yuan on the strength of seven innovative drugs receiving approval. Zhu Yi of Baili Tianheng gained 24 billion yuan and rose 114 places, primarily due to a global licensing agreement (excluding China) for a drug in development reached with Bristol Myers Squibb at the end of last year.

A total of 54 entrepreneurs debuted on the list this year, the lowest number in 20 years. Influenced by the overall strength of Taiwan's secondary market, the majority of these newcomers are from Taiwan. Mainland China's new entrants are mainly founders of unicorn companies, including Mao Wenchao and Qu Fang of Xiaohongshu, Yu Kai of Horizon Robotics (a newly IPO'd intelligent driving solutions company), Zhao Xulong and Zhu Shuina of Mafengwo, Wang Bing and Zhao Wenjun of Shi Yue Dao Tian, and Zhang Qingsen of Ugreen Technology.

Top 10 Wealth Declines

964 entrepreneurs saw their wealth shrink or remain flat compared to last year. Among those with the largest declines were Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring, Zeng Yuqun of CATL, the Lui Che-woo family of Macau's "gambling king" fame, William Ding of NetEase, Wang Xing of Meituan, Li Xiang of Li Auto, the Cheng family behind Chow Tai Fook, Chen Bang of Aier Eye Hospital, the Li Shufu family behind Geely, and the Robin Li and Melissa Ma couple of Baidu.

Affected by market competition, both Wang Xing and his investment Li Xiang each saw their wealth shrink by 36.5 billion yuan. Liu Qiangdong of JD.com and Wang Wei of SF Express have each seen their wealth drop by more than 100 billion yuan from the e-commerce industry peak in 2020.

"Elevator Kings"

Wealth fluctuations are like riding an elevator — some businesses could be called "elevator kings," experiencing the ultimate "up and down enjoyment."

Colin Huang's personal wealth stood at 270 billion yuan in 2023, peaked at 400 billion yuan by late May 2024, then fell back to 245 billion yuan. Similar patterns appeared with William Ding and Li Xiang, each gaining roughly 40 billion yuan last year only to lose about the same amount this year.

The Richest Woman and Women "Holding Up a Quarter of the Sky"

Kelly Zong, 42-year-old successor to Wahaha, replaced Kwong Siu-hing of Sun Hung Kai as China's richest woman, ranking 38th on the list with a fortune of 81 billion yuan.

The proportion of women on this year's list fell by 1.9 percentage points to 23.5%. More than 70% of them are self-made.

Together and Apart

The Hurun Rich List features several couples appearing together. For example, Lu Xiangyang and Zhang Changhong of Rongjie Holdings, and Qin Yinglin and Qian Ying of Muyuan Group tied at 14th place; Wei Jianjun and Han Xuejuan of Great Wall Motors at 23rd; Gong Hongjia and Chen Chunmei of Hikvision at 61st; Chen Tianqiao and Luo Qianqian at 65th; Zhang Yong and Shu Ping at 70th; Robin Li and Melissa Ma at 71st; and Liu Qiangdong and Zhang Zetian at 72nd.

Hoogewerf told Anyong Waves: "The divorce rate among Rich List entrepreneurs is lower than many people imagine. The most recent divorce was that of Jin Lei and Wang Simian of biopharmaceutical company Changchun High-Tech, with a fortune of 5.5 billion yuan."

China's most famous entrepreneur divorces include Wu Yajun and Cai Kui of Longfor, Chen Dongsheng and Lu Ang of Taikang, and Li Guoqing and Yu Yu of Dangdang — all of whom remained on the list after their separations.

China's World-Class Entrepreneurs

Hoogewerf told Anyong Waves that internationalization is one of the characteristics of this year's list. Chinese entrepreneurs going global include not only richest person Yiming Zhang with TikTok, fourth-ranked Colin Huang with Temu, and Midea with its strong overseas business, but also Anuttacon of miHoYo at 44th place, and Wang Shuo at 618th place, who founded HR services company Deel in the United States.

Investors on the Wealth List

Investors are widely seen as wealth creators. Yet the wealth list also features plenty of "investors." These include the highly active Li Ka-shing, Lu Xiangyang who funded his cousin Wang Chuanfu with 2.5 million yuan, Lei Jun who "invested after succeeding in entrepreneurship," the low-key "big shot" Lin Li with three precise investments over 30 years, and Chen Tianqao who was once the youngest wealthy person.

Among active primary market investors, Neil Shen of Hongshan ranks 148th, and Zhang Lei of Hillhouse Capital ranks 179th.

The Unchanging Secrets

The continual emergence of new richest persons and new listees embodies China's rapid economic development over these years. From an individual perspective, however, the preservation of wealth is another question that only time can answer.

The most frequent "regulars" who have impressed Hoogewerf are the brothers Liu Yongxing and Liu Yonghao, Liu Hanyuan of Tongwei, William Ding of NetEase, and the father-son pair Lu Guanqiu and Lu Weiding behind Wanxiang Group.

Liu Yongxing, Liu Yonghao, and Liu Hanyuan are all Sichuanese known for their "leading mental state," all starting in the feed industry before going on to stage the most legendary transformation stories. In the tumultuous internet industry, the survival of 1.0-era player William Ding appears especially stable. And Wanxiang Group stands as one of the domestic enterprises with the deepest understanding of international markets.

Image source: IC Photo