•  36-YEAR HUANG GUANGYU NUMBER ONE OF CHINA FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING

•  7 USD BILLIONAIRES, UP FROM 3 LAST YEAR

•  HURUN REPORT LAUNCHES SEVENTH ANNUAL CHINA RICH LIST, EXPANDED THIS YEAR TO 400 PEOPLE

For the second year running, Huang Guangyu (HK name Wong Kwong Yu), founder of GoMe Appliances, China largest electronics retailer, is the Number One with a personal fortune that has grown US$400 million since last year mainly because Huang successfully cashed out US$320 million from his HK-listed company.

Biggest riser - Yan Jiehe

45 year old Yan Jiehe is the fastest riser this year, with a personal wealth of US$1.5 billion. Yan Jiehe made his fortune in civil construction, winning multiple billion-dollar contracts from local governments to build highways. Virtually unknown to China's mainstream, Yan's China Pacific Construction is leading privately-owned builder of civil infrastructure (roads, water reservoirs, bridges, etc..), China Pacific Construction has the highest number of employees of any private company in China (100,000 employees) and paid US$170 million of taxes last year on sales of US$2.7 billion.

Biggest Loser – Gu Chujun

Only one person from last year's list, Gu Chujun this year fell off the list after being placed under house arrest for financial irregularities this summer.

Industries of China 's richest entrepreneurs

Whilst the building boom is still the greatest creator of private wealth in China , other sectors that are fast-developing include retail, IT, auto parts and soft drinks. Property may be considered an ‘old' industry in the Western world, but in China it is anything but. Making IT look sluggish by comparison, China 's building boom has been the key driver behind China 's explosion of wealth. It seems unthinkable that twenty years ago land had only negligible value. Prime plots of land bought even as little as five years ago have seen their values increase ten-fold. International property developers need to watch out as China 's property experts begin to move overseas to compete with them, such as Shimao which has recently made forays into Russia .

Cut-off for list

To make the Top 400 this year required a personal fortune of US$60 million.

Influence on China 's social and economic development

Although there is an increasing rich/poor divide, many of China 's richest entrepreneurs are also increasingly giving back to community. While in the past State Owned Enterprises have been the biggest tax contributors, China 's entrepreneurs are beginning to make an impact and China 's top ten richest entrepreneurs in particular are playing an ever-increasing role in the economy. This year's Top Ten, for example, paid US$750 million in taxes last year and employ 300,000 people today. Beijing property tycoon Huang Rulun, for example, has donated US$35 million to charitable causes between 2003 and 2005.

Transparency getting better

If maturity can be measured by transparency, China 's private sector can be said to be maturing fast. Armed with a pen and a pad of paper, one Shanghai entrepreneur in September drew the Hurun Report out a detailed ownership structure of his billion-dollar investments even going so far as to offer valuations based upon comparable market values or net assets. As one of the country's largest taxpayers and employers, and with his political network firmly established, he no longer feels the need to hide behind a cloak of secrecy. Another entrepreneur from Guangzhou even went so far as to fly over three of his staff to the Hurun Report offices in Shanghai to explain why they were worth much more than we had previously valued them at, providing audited accounts as evidence. “If we are to be on the list, we might as well be on at the right position.” There has been a revolution in China 's attitude towards wealth.

Making their mark internationally

China is probably the most exciting place in the world today for entrepreneurship. The speed of growth is explosive, with the wealth of the Top 100 growing by 50% over the last year and the total wealth of the Hurun Report 400 now standing at US$75 billion, equivalent to 7% of China's GDP last year.

The stories of the China 100 tell the story of China 's economy - its problems and its successes; these are the people to watch. For more information on the Hurun Report China Rich List see www.hurun.net

Methodology

Valuing the wealth of China 's Rich is as much an art as it is a science. Our team of researchers has - for the seventh year running - travelled the length and breadth of the country cross-checking information with entrepreneurs, industry experts, journalists, bankers, and regulators, as well as previous years' databases. The cut-off date for valuation of listed companies was August 31. For non-listed companies we valued by comparing them with their listed equivalents using industry P/E ratios.

Interesting facts

•  Average wealth of Hurun Report 400 is US$187 million

•  Total wealth : US$75 billion, which equates to 7% of China 's GDP last year. If comparing this year's Top 100 with last year's Top 100, the average wealth has increased to US$440 million up from US$297 million last year (48% rise).

•  Cut-off to make list:

For comparative purposes, the 2005 Number 100 has US$210 million, up 40% on last year.

•  33 new entrants in Top 100 (32 last year)

•  Fastest risers

•  Industries listed by entrepreneurs as one of their key industries

Property is still king, but the percentage has reduced to 28% this year from 45% last year. Industries on the rise include manufacturing, IT and finance, whilst agriculture is on the wane.

•  Politics : 20% estimated to be CCP members. Of the Top 100, there are 9 delegates to the National People's Congress and 16 to the China People's Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC).

•  Women : 21 individuals on list led by Chen Ningning and her mother Lv Hui at Number 10, Chen Lihua and Zhang Yin

•  Average age : 46.9 years, up from 46.2 years last year. Significant impact on education from ten year Cultural Revolution (1966-76), when they were on average 8 to 18 years old.

•  9% speak passable English

•  Going global : China 's entrepreneurs fly to HK , US , Australia , Japan , Singapore , France , UK and Russia more than anywhere else.

•  Head office locations : Zhejiang (63 entrepreneurs), Guangdong (58), Beijing (53), Shanghai (48), Jiangsu (36) and HK (21). Zhejiang has taken over from Guangdong lasr year, reflecting the openness of the Zhejiang govt to the private sector and the entrepreneurial zeal of the Zhejiang entrepreneurs. Zhejiang is a great export market.

•  Birthplaces : Zhejiang (84 entrepreneurs), Guangdong (50), Jiangsu (40), Shandong (24), Shanghai (23) and Fujian (20)

•  45% relocated since birth

•  Average time to make the rich list is twelve years from starting-up the company.

•  Youngest on list. There are 55 people under the age of 40 on the list, led by

•  Capital markets : Top 400 control 137 listed companies, of which 67 are on exchanges outside Mainland China

About Mission Hills

For the second year running Mission Hills is the sponsor of the Hurun Report China Rich List. Mission Hills, based in Shenzhen, is China 's leading golf resort. In April last year, Mission Hills won the accolade from the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest golf club with 180 holes