Bundles of money. Photo By Mufid Majnun – Pixabay

10 Wealthiest People From China


 

China is the second largest economy in the world with a nominal GDP of 17.7 trillion USD. It is the largest exporter and manufacturer of goods and is projected to be the world’s largest economy by 2028.

 As of 2021, there are 539 billionaires in China making it the second country with the highest number of billionaires after the United States. The majority of China’s wealthiest people are innovators in the technology industry. Below is a snippet of the top ten Chinese billionaires in descending order and their wealth sources.

1. Huang Shilin

With a net worth of 20.3 billion USD, Huang is the tenth richest billionaire in China. He is the Vice president of Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) which is a manufacturing and technology company founded in 2011.

CATL is the largest lithium-ion battery supplier for electric vehicles (EV). According to the 2020 SNE research, the company’s EV battery consumption volume had maintained its first position since 2016.

Huang Shilin holds a 12% shareholding in CATL and has served as the company’s vice president for 10 years.

2. Jack Ma

Jack Ma’ Photo By Kremlin.ru – Wikimedia Commons

Jack Ma, the former executive chairman of Alibaba, is the most popular Chinese billionaire. He is a tycoon and major investor in worldwide properties with a net worth of 37.1 billion USD (March 2022). Jack acquired his wealth through the e-commerce platform, Alibaba, of which he was a co-founder.

Ma began his entrepreneurial journey after being rejected in several job applications.  He started his first company Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency in 1994 and progressed to create Alibaba with a group of 18 friends in 1999. By 2015, Alibaba accounted for more than ¾ of China’s online retail sales.

KPMG, a multinational service network, ranked Jack third as the global technology innovation visionary. He retired from Alibaba in 2018 and dedicated his life to supporting the underprivileged in China, Australia, and Africa.

3. Li Shufu

Li Shufu is the founder and chairman of the private company Geely Automobile Holdings, a multinational automotive company. The successful company has a catalog of various automobiles, engines, transmissions, and luxury vehicles. It was founded in 1986 and is the second largest private automobile manufacturer in China.

The Engineer degree holder has a net worth of 23.7 billion USD, his prestigious wealth having been obtained from his automobile company. Shufu’s interest in automobiles began when he was a child as he made his first car from sand since he couldn’t afford any toy cars at the time.

4. Qin Yinglin

Qin Yinglin is the world’s richest farmer. He is an agriculture tycoon with a net worth of 24.1 billion USD. After successfully securing a degree in Animal Husbandry, he started his agriculture business with his wife, Qian Ying in 1992.

Qin founded Muyuan Foodstuff, a pig breeding and distribution company of which he is the chairman. Muyan Foodstuff is a key player in the world’s largest pork market producing over 10 million pigs in 2019.   

5. Wang Wei

Wang Wei is a 52-year-old entrepreneur with a net worth of 24.3 billion USD. He is the founder of SF Express, which is the main source of his wealth. SF Express, referred to as the FedEx FDX of China, is a multinational service company and the second largest courier in China.

Wang’s idea of creating SF stemmed from his drive to solve the problem of long shipping delays. He began by creating the courier service ShunFeng in 1993 with just 6 employees.

Over the years, SF Express expanded and as of 2018, the company’s cargo freighters had transported over 2 million tonnes of cargo. In February 2020, the company began using drones to transport supplies to Wuhan Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. William Ding Lei

William Ding is a billionaire businessman based in Hangzhou, China. He is the founder and CEO of NetEase and has a net worth of 25.2 billion USD.

NetEase was founded in 1997 and is one of the largest video game companies in the world. It is a technology company that provides online community, content, and commerce services. NetEase has also produced some of China’s longest-running PC games such as Fantasy Westward Journey and Westward Journey Online II.

In 2017, NetEase partnered with Marvel Comics to release online copies of the magazine namely Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Guardian of the Galaxy. William’s wealth is a result of the success of NetEase which continues to thrive today.

7. He Xiangjian

Midea Group headquarters. Photo By Midea Group – Wikimedia Commons

He Xiangjian is one of China’s top billionaires. His net worth of 28.3 billion USD is attributed to his contribution to the manufacturing industry of China. He is the founder of Midea, one of China’s largest appliance makers that specializes in kitchen, air treatment, and floor care appliances.

 The electrical company currently has 60 branches overseas with a sales revenue of 40.5 billion USD in 2020. In 2012, Xiangjian handed over the management of Midea to Hong Bo Fang. He still remains the main stakeholder of the company with 32% of the company shares.

8. Ma Huateng

Poly Ma 2019. Photo Source Wikimedia Commons

Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, is a business mogul and entrepreneur with a net worth of 37.2 billion USD. He is the co-founder and CEO of Tencent, a multinational entertainment conglomerate and technology company.

Tencent was founded in 1998 by Ma Huateng and 4 other colleagues. It launched its first instant messaging application, QQ, in 1999. In 2014, QQ was recognized by the Guinness World Record for the highest number of simultaneous online users on the instant messaging program.

9. Zhang Yiming

TikTok app icon on a mobile phone. Photo By Solen Feyissa – Wikimedia Commons

Zhang Yiming is a software entrepreneur and founder of ByetDance, an internet technology company. ByetDance is responsible for the development of apps such as TikTok, Toutiao, and Douyin.

ByetDance has grown massively since its foundation in 2012. As of June 2021, the company hosted over 1.5 billion active users in a month. The company is valued at 75 billion USD and is the contributor to Zhang’s net worth which stands at 50 billion USD.

10. Zhong Shanshan

Zhong Shanshan. Photo By DHalps – Wikimedia Commons

Zhong Shanshan is the wealthiest Chinese citizen and the 18th richest person in the world. He is the founder of Nongfu Spring, a beverage company, and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise. His mainstream of income originates from the two companies.

Zhong’s net worth is a whopping 63 billion USD! His journey as an entrepreneur was inspired by his previous work experience in Wahaha Beverage Company where he worked as a sales agent and consecutively sold healthcare supplements.

Nongfu’s initial public offering in 2020 catapulted Zhong’s net worth from 18.9 billion to over 50 billion USD. Despite his high social class, Zhong maintains a low profile and is rarely seen in the public realm.

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