Chinese billionaires experienced a decline after a record-breaking 2021. As Chinese equities dropped, the amount of mainlanders who made the 2022 list decreased to 539 from 626 a year earlier. Although the number of billionaires has decreased, the nation is still second only to the United States, which has 735 billionaires. (Passport holders from Hong Kong and Macau are not included in China’s figure.)
Chinese billionaires’ total worth decreased from $2.5 trillion on the 2021 list to $1.96 trillion this year as an outcome of a combination of fewer list members and poorer stock prices.
The combined wealth of the top ten Chinese is $321.6 billion, a decrease from $447 billion in 2021. The whole wealth of the world’s billionaire ranks, which total 2,668 people and are worth a combined $12.7 trillion, is now accounted for by 15% of mainland Chinese billionaires.
Zhong Shanshan, the creator of Nongfu Spring and a mogul of tea and bottled water, is ranked first among those in China for the second time this year. The 17th richest person in the world, the elementary school dropout has an estimated net worth of $65.7 billion, down $3.2 billion from the previous year.
- Zhong Shanshan
NET WORTH: $65.7 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: BEVERAGES, PHARMACEUTICALS
RESIDENCE: HANGZHOU
Zhong is the chairman of tea and bottled water company Nongfu Spring. After the company’s Hong Kong IPO in September 2020, he maintains his position as the richest person in China, which he attained last year. Zhong also serves as the chairman of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, which produces Covid-19 testing.
- Zhang Yiming
NET WORTH: $50 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: INTERNET MEDIA
RESIDENCE: BEIJING
Zhang is the principal founder of ByteDance, one of the most valuable unicorns in the world and the company behind the immensely successful short video social media app TikTok. Zhang left his position as CEO in May 2021 and left his position as chairman of ByteDance in November 2021.
- Ma Huateng
NET WORTH: $37.2 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: INTERNET MEDIA
RESIDENCE: SHENZHEN
CEO of web media behemoth Tencent is Ma. In the past year, the company’s shares, which are traded in Hong Kong, have decreased by almost half due to slower development and a change in Communist Party policies about Internet enterprises. China’s internet market was “restructuring,” according to Ma, and it was “moving to a healthy state” in March.
4. He Xiangjian
NET WORTH: $28.3 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: HOME APPLIANCES
RESIDENCE: FOSHAN
Billionaire owner of appliances Co-founding the Shenzhen-listed Midea Group, He Xiangjian resigned as chairman in 2012. His family also owns Midea Real Estate, whose operations have been negatively impacted by the glut of properties on the mainland. In the previous year, he saw a 25% decrease in his wealth.
5. William Lei Ding
NET WORTH: $25.2 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: ONLINE GAMES
RESIDENCE: HANGZHOU
One of China’s biggest online gaming companies, NetEase, which is listed on the Nasdaq, is led by Ding. In a Hong Kong IPO of its music app, Cloud Village, the company garnered $422 million last December. From $33 billion on the 2021 list, his wealth decreased.
6. Wang Wei
NET WORTH: $24.3 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: PACKAGE DELIVERY
RESIDENCE: SHENZHEN
- Holdings, dubbed the Fedex of China, was created and is led by Wang. His fortune dropped 37% in the last year due to decreasing profits and fierce competition, which harmed the company’s shares listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
7. Qin Yinglin
NET WORTH: $24.1 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: PIG BREEDING
RESIDENCE: NANYANG
Qin is the chairman of one of China’s biggest pig breeders, Muyuan Food. In 1992, he and his wife, other billionaire Qian Ying, launched their company with 22 pigs.
8. Li Shufu
NET WORTH: $23.7 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: AUTOMOBILES
RESIDENCE: HANGZHOU
The richest auto industry entrepreneur in China, Li Shufu (also recognized as Eric Li), is the chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding, which owns direct and indirect investments in several manufacturers, including Volvo and electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar.
9. Jack Ma
NET WORTH: $22.8 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: E-COMMERCE
RESIDENCE: HANGZHOU
The former vocal co-founder of Alibaba, who was once the richest person in China, has become more reserved in light of the government’s changing stance on internet businesses, foreign listings, and wealth generation, as well as the 60% decline in Alibaba’s share price over the past year.
10. Huang Shilin
NET WORTH: $20.3 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: BATTERIES
RESIDENCE: NINGDE
At Advanced Amperex Technology, one of the biggest global suppliers of batteries to manufacturers of electric vehicle assemblies, Huang is one of the two vice chairs.
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