The Top 10 Richest People In China

Written by: Poppy Skinner Created: 19 February 2018

China has more billionaires than any other country on the planet. Here we reveal the list of China’s top 10 richest people.

With Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dog upon us, we take a look at the top 10 richest people in China. Last year saw China’s wealthiest individuals increasing their net worth dramatically. According to a recent report by Forbes, the combined net worth of the 400 richest individuals in China grew by 26% in 2017 to US$1.2 trillion – more than many countries’ gross domestic product (GDP).

The majority of Chinese billionaires on the list made their fortunes in the property and technology industries.

Without further ado, here’s the list of top 10 richest people in Mainland China as of 19 February:

1. MA HUATENG US$47.4 BILLION

Chairman of Tencent Holdings, the internet giant which owns the WeChat empire. His company also holds a significant stake in Snap in the US. Huateng’s wealth has jumped an impressive 59% over the past year.

2. JACK MA US$39.4 BILLION

Co-founder and chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. Ma previously held the top spot on China’s rich list, and is still right up there in contention for the future top spot. Alibaba’s share price has risen from US$101.59 to US$179.25 over the past 12 months.

3. WANG JIANLIN US$31.7 BILLION

Chairman of large commercial real estate developer Dalian Wanda Group. The previous holder of the top spot, unfortunately, his push into the US media business hurt him as the group’s AMC cinemas underperformed. Due to Wanda’s share price increase, his wealth has risen more than US$6 billion since November of 2017 alone.

4. HUI KA YAN US$31.5 BILLION

Chairman of China Evergrande Group of Shenzhen. Incredible growth both in share prices and profits saw Hui’s wealth skyrocket by US$32 billion over the past year.

5. YANG HUIYAN US$21.7 BILLION

Owner of 57% of Country Garden Holdings, she is also the Chairman of Bright Scholar Education Holdings. Yang is the youngest individual and the only female on the top 10 list.

6. HE XIANGJIAN US$21.3 BILLION

Founder of appliance-maker Midea Group, which operates around 200 subsidiaries globally.

7. WANG WEI US$18.9 BILLION

Chairman of S.F. Holding, a Shenzhen based delivery company. It is the largest private courier company in China and second largest delivery company overall.

8. WILLIAM DING LEI US$17.9 BILLION

CEO of Netease, the internet giant, who was once China’s richest man in 2003. In 2012, he was worth a paltry US$2.95 billion, but his wealth has surged significantly over the past few years.

9. LI SHUFU US$15.8 BILLION

Chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings. Known globally for Geely’s ownership of Volvo Cars, Shofu saw his wealth jump by 217% over the past year – the second highest rate among China’s billionaires after Hui Ka Yan.

10. ROBIN LI US$12.6 BILLION

A University of Buffalo Master’s graduate, Li is the founder and CEO of Baidu, China’s most popular search engine.

This article was originally published by WEALTH, Asia’s marketplace for investors. 

Written by: Poppy Skinner

Poppy covers a wide range of topics at Billionaire, having spent the past 13 years at companies including Singapore Tatler, Her World Plus and Harpers Bazaar UK. She has a passion for fashion, jewellery and travel as well as an avaricious fascination with crime novels. Follow her at poppypskinner on Instagram.