China lost 229 billionaires in the last year as a faltering economy, sliding stocks and a depreciating yuan hit the country’s super-rich harder than their peers in any other nation, according to a new list published by Hurun Report.
Chinese moguls accounted for more than half of the 445 people worldwide who lost their status as US-dollar billionaires and dropped off of the Hurun Global Rich List. The number represents the biggest decline in Chinese billionaires since the list was first published in 2013.
China also added the largest number of new billionaires to the list, which is based on net worth as of January 16, with 69.
Zhong Shanshan, 69, founder of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, retained his position as China’s richest person with a fortune of US$69 billion, down 4 per cent on year. He is the world’s 15th richest person.
The total wealth of the listed Chinese billionaires, which includes 77 people from Hong Kong and 46 from Taiwan, plummeted 15 per cent, compared to a loss of 10 per cent in net worth globally. A total of 26 Chinese tycoons rank among the world’s 100 richest people.
“Interest rate hikes, the appreciation of the US dollar, the popping of a Covid-19-driven tech bubble and the continued impact of the Russia-Ukraine war have all combined to hurt stock markets,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, a consultancy.
Tencent’s founder Pony Ma, 52, is in second place among Chinese billionaires, up two spots from a year earlier despite losing 25 per cent of his net worth to US$39 billion. He is the 31st wealthiest person worldwide.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, 40, dropped one place to third, as his wealth shrank by 31 per cent to US$37 billion.
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, owner of this newspaper, fell from fifth to ninth among Chinese billionaires, with his net worth dropping 32 per cent to US$25 billion, which equates to 52nd place worldwide.
Li Ka-shing remains Hong Kong’s richest person and is the 39th richest person in the world, as his fortune declined 6 per cent to US$31 billion.
Source: The South China Morning Post
