2005 China Power List
| 2005 rank | 2004 rank | name | description |
| 1 | 1 | Larry Rong Zhijian | The earliest of our list to make his mark in the international community, Rong today is head of Citic Pacific, a Hong Kong listed company with a market capitalisation of US$6 billion and interests that span aviation, civil infrastructure, real estate, telecoms and online games tech. The son of one of China’s most prominent Red Capitalists, a term used to describe pre-revolutionary tycoons who stayed on after the establishment of the People’s Republic to reconstruct the country, Rong is a delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for a record fourth five-year term. Rong represents the only Mainland Chinese one hundred-year old dynasty today. |
| 2 | 2 | Lu Guanqiu & family | At the forefront of most of the key economic turning points of the last twenty years, Lu runs Wanxiang Group, the country’s leading auto parts manufacturer. Recently expanding to finance and other investments, Lu is a delegate to the National People’s Congress for a second term. Lu has led by example and commands significant respect from the rest of the business community. |
| 3 | 10 | Shen Wenrong | Shen has steered Shagang to become China’s largest privately controlled iron and steel business. Shen was a delegate to the 16th Party Congress and is a delegate to the National People’s Congress for a second term. |
| 4 | 5 | Xu Rongmao | Continuing to set the pace for real estate developers in China, Xu this year has been strengthening Shimao’s real estate brand, by expanding into second-tier cities, Russia and into hotel. Xu is a delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. |
| 5 | 3 | Zong Qinghou | Known for his innovative marketing, Zong has built up Wahaha into the leading domestic drinks brand. Zong is a delegate to the National People’s Congress. |
| 6 | - | Jack Ma Yun | A new-comer to the Power List, Jack Ma has positioned Alibaba as China’s leading IT business and this year took over Yahoo’s China business, valuing Alibaba at US$4 billion. |
| 7 | 4 | Huang Guangyu | China’s Number One for the second year running, Huang has positioned GoMe as the country’s leading electronics retailer with 88,000 employees from 380 stores around the country. Despite his young age, we have included Huang in the Power List on account of the impact he has upon China’s electronics industry. |
| 8 | 6 | Xu Ming | Based in the under-developed North East of China, Xu has been positioning Shide in the fast opening up oil industry with the announcement this year of a 50:50 Saudi joint venture to establish a US$5 billion ethanol plant. We have included Xu, despite his young age, based on the scale and impact of the petrochemical industry as well as his ownership of China’s most successful soccer team. |
| 9 | 8 | Chen Tianqiao | The youngest on our Power List for the second year running, Chen controls China’s largest Nasdaq-listed company by market value (US$2.5 billion) and is a source of inspiration for many of China’s youth with the development of his online games business. |
| 10 | - | Yan Jiehe | A new-comer to the Power List, Yan runs China Pacific Construction, the largest civil construction business in the country with sales in 2005 expected to hit US$4 billion. The highest private company taxpayer in the country (US$160 million in 2004), China Pacific today has 100,000 employees. |
The Power List is designed to highlight the benefits China's entrepreneurs are bringing to their country. In a country with a significant rich/poor divide, the 2005 Hurun Report China Power List flags ten entrepreneurs from the 2005 Hurun Report China Rich List that have contributed significantly to the economy. When ranking the most powerful people from the Rich List, our editorial team considered their economic impact (sales, taxes paid and number of people employed), strategic importance of the industries they operate in, political impact (whether a delegate to the National People's Congress or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and if so, for how many terms), media and social impact. Growing wealth brings with it growing power. Whilst we have yet to see one of China's tycoons take on a senior government position, as is common in the US and parts of Europe, there is a growing appreciation by ordinary Chinese of the impact they are having on the fast-developing economy. Power may ethereal, as impalpable or intangible as air, but its effects influences the lives of many. The people from the Power List are the pathfinders, paving the way for others to follow in.