The Hurun Research Institute today released the Hengchang Shaofang·Hurun China Rich List 2020 a ranking of the richest individuals in China.
(20 October 2020, Shanghai) The Hurun Research Institute today released the Hengchang Shaofang·Hurun China Rich List 2020 a ranking of the richest individuals in China, with a wealth cut-off of CNY 2 billion, equivalent to US$290 million. Wealth calculations are from 28 August. This is the 22nd year of the list.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said: “This year has seen the biggest wealth increase in the 22 years of the Hurun China Rich List. Stock markets boom and a flurry of new listings have minted five new dollar billionaires in China a week for the past year. The world has never seen this much wealth created in just one year. China’s entrepreneurs have done much better than expected. Despite Covid-19 they have risen to record levels.”
“China’s rich listers added US$1.5tn, the equivalent of half the UK’s annual GDP, to take them to US$4 trillion, more than the GDP of Germany, the fourth biggest economy in the world.”
“The Hurun China Rich List recorded more wealth created this year than the previous five years combined, suggesting that the structure of the economy has evolved, moving away from traditional sectors like manufacturing and real estate, towards the new economy.”
“Zhong Shanshan is one of the few entrepreneurs in the world to build not one, but two US$10bn companies. The other in this rarified club from China is Liu Qiangdong, whilst Jack Ma stands alone as the only person in the world to have founded two companies each with a valuation of over US$100bn.”
“Half the list live in the Big Six cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Suzhou, which is creating a booming entrepreneur ecosystems. This entrepreneurship is infectious.”
“Ten companies have generated 137 individuals on this year’s Hurun list, a remarkable 6% of the list, led by Haitian and Alibaba.”
“At this rate, expect to see ten or more Chinese entrepreneurs break through the US$100bn mark within five years.”
“The first two months of the outbreak wiped out massive amounts of wealth, the second two months saw a V-shaped recovery and since June the new economy, led by digital, has boomed to record heights.”
“The Hurun China Rich List tells the story of the Chinese economy through the stories of China’s most successful entrepreneurs”.
Hengchang Shaofang official spokesman said, “Premium baijiu has become a must-have for business and private entertaining in China. With almost 100 years of history, Hengchang Shaofang has grown to become a leading jiangxiang baijiu brand, especially in these past three years. Hengchang Shaofang is proud to present the Hurun China Rich List 2020, especially at a time when the Chinese economy is going through so many changes. Premium baijiu brand Moutai has been a great role model, growing to become China’s largest company, and leading the growth of jiangxiang baijiu to make up 30% of the profits of the whole industry, whilst only producing 5% of volume. Hengchang Shaofang is from the Maotai region, and is positioning itself as the premium baijiu of choice after Moutai.
Jack Ma, 56, for the third year running retained top spot with US$58.8bn, up 45% on the back of the impending IPO of fintech platform Ant and a strong performance by ecommerce platform Alibaba. “Despite giving away over US$10bn, Jack Ma is still Number One,” said Hoogewerf. Pony Ma, 49, was second, with his wealth up 50% to US$57.4bn on the back of Tencent’s gaming business doing better than expected, its Wechat service expanding and good returns on some of its investments, led by Tesla, Meituan, Pinduoduo and JD. Low-key Zhong Shanshan, 66, of YST, best-known for bottled water brand Nongfu, shot straight into the Top 3 with US$53.7bn “The Top 3 are neck and neck, all making it to Number One this year. Pony Ma started the year as Number One, Zhong Shanshan was Number One for an hour on the day of his IPO in September, but Jack Ma took the official prize on the China Rich List,” said Hoogewerf.
743 new faces, a new record. 5 jumped straight into the Top 100, led by Zhong Shanshan. Others included Shenzhen-based Chen Zhiping, 44, of e-cigarette maker Smoore with US$9.4bn; Forrest Li Xiaodong of Singapore-based mobile game platform Sea best-known for Free Fire; and brothers Ruan Liping, 56, and Ruan Xueping, 48, of Wenzhou-based Bull, best-known for its adapters and plugs. “A flurry of IPOs has created many new faces,” said Hoogewerf. “All eyes are now on Ant’s IPO, expected to create many new rich listers after what is being billed as the world’s biggest IPO.”
878 billionaires, up 257 from last year. “If you add in the 100+ billionaires from HK, Macau and Taiwan, Greater China today has the best part of 1000 ‘known’ dollar billionaires, way more than the almost 700 ‘known’ billionaires in the US,” said Hoogewerf.
E-commerce has had a good year. The star performer of the year was ‘Food Delivery King’ Wang Xing, 41, of Meituan, up 52 places to 13th and quadrupling his wealth to US$25bn, on the back of winning market share in the food delivery sector from Alibaba. Colin Huang Zheng of Pinduoduo, was up 63% to US$32.4bn, at 40yrs the youngest self-made entrepreneur in the Top 10. “Huang this year created a world’s first, giving away more than US$10bn worth of Pinduoduo shares to his team and to charity, and then handing over the role of CEO,” said Hoogewerf. Liu Qiangdong, 47, of JD doubled his wealth to US$23.5bn. ‘Express Delivery King’ Wang Wei, 50, of SF Express also had an outstanding year, more than doubling his wealth to US$35.3bn and breaking into the Top 10.
5G is providing big opportunities. Lei Jun, 51, saw his wealth more than double to US$25bn, Xiaomi’s share price surged, driven in part by the US sanctions on Huawei. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, 76, was down 10% and 100+ places to US$2.8bn, on the back of biting US government sanctions. ‘Touchscreen Queen’ Zhou Qunfei, 50, of Lens saw her wealth more than triple to propel her back into the Top 3 self-made women in the world with US$16.9bn. Wang Laisheng, 56, and sister Wang Laichun, 53, of Apple parts supplier Luxshare Precision more than tripled their wealth to US$13.4bn each. Zeng Fangqin, 55, of Apple and Huawei parts supplier LY doubled to US$7.6bn.
Healthcare overtook real estate to become the second most popular industry with 10.9% of the list. Manufacturing led with 23.8%, whilst real estate dropped to 10.6%, down from 14.8%, the biggest drop since records began in 1999.
Jiang Rensheng, 67, of Chongqing-based flu and meningitis vaccine producer Zhifei, saw his wealth almost triple to US$19.9bn, on the back of China’s drug regulator announcing it had approved clinical human testing of a Covid-19 vaccine. Li Jianquan, 63, was the fastest riser of the year, growing his wealth 11-fold to US$5.6bn, on the back of the IPO of PPE and facemask maker Winner. An Kang, 71, of antibody drug maker Hualan more than doubled his wealth to US$7.6bn. Li Ge, 53, & Zhao Ning, 54, of drug R&D platforms WuXi PharmaTech and WuXi AppTech saw their wealth almost double to US$7.2bn. ‘Healthcare Power Couple’ Sun Piaoyang, 62, of Hengrui & Zhong Huijuan, 59, of Hansoh saw their combined wealth up US$10bn to shoot them both individually into the Top 30. “Sun Piaoyang and Zhong Huijuan set a world record for a husband and wife team, in that they run separate pharma companies that have generated them each with over US$10bn of wealth,” said Hoogewerf.
EVs are booming on the back of the surge in the price of Elon Musk’s Tesla. Zeng Yuqun, 52, saw his wealth triple to US$17.6bn, on the back of a surge in demand for lithium battery maker CATL. He Xiaopeng, 43, saw his wealth rise 80% to US$6.6bn, after listing of Xpeng Motors in New York this summer. Li Xiang, 39, of Li Auto, jumped straight into the Top 300 with US$3.5bn. Li Bin of Nio, up four-fold to US$3.45bn. Lou Tiancheng and Peng Jun of autonomous driving company Pony.ai, made the list for the first time with US$440mn and US$380mn.
Some traditional sectors have continued to flourish. Led by the unlikely star of the year Zhong Shanshan, others include pork producer Qin Yinglin, 55, & wife Qian Ying, 54, of Muyuan, who continued their unlikely rise, doubling their wealth to US$29.4bn and breaking into the Top 10 for the first time, meaning they have now seen their wealth grow six-fold in the last two years. ‘Soya Sauce King’ Pang Kang, 64, of Haitian, whose wealth more than doubled to take him to 11th place with US$28.7bn. Interestingly, 27 individuals from Haitian made this year’s list. ‘Hotpot King’ Zhang Yong, 49, & wife Shu Ping, 50, of HaiDilao, grew their wealth by over US$10bn to US$28.7bn, although that was not enough to keep them in the Top 10, dropping them down two places to 11th. Deng Wen, 52, & Tang Lu, 50, of Chengdu-based hotpot ingredients Teway Food, whose wealth more than doubled to US$5.1bn.
Real estate had a bad year. “For the first time since records began in 1999, there is no real estate developer in the Top 4,” said Hoogewerf. Xu Jiayin, 62, of Evergrande and Yang Huiyan, 39, of Country Garden led the way with fortunes of US$34.6bn and US$33.1bn. All eyes have been on Zuo Hui, 49, of Beijing-based KE Holdings, best-known for its housing transaction platform Beike and real estate brokerage Lianjia, who saw his wealth up well over US$10bn to US$15.4bn, on the back of a listing in New York in August. Interestingly, KE Holdings is now worth about the same as Evergrande and Country Garden combined, making Zuo richer than all but five developers. “The big trend this year is the listing of big property developers’ property management companies, led by Country Garden, whose property management company is worth US$20bn,” said Hoogewerf.
Covid winners. Eric Yuan Zheng, 50, of California-based video sharing platform Zoom, gained over US$10bn to break him into the Top 30 with US$16.2bn. Li Yongxin, 44, saw his wealth more than double to US$20.6bn and a Top 20 place, on the back of training platform Offcn’s better than expected profits. Offcn made its name by providing training for the Chinese civil service exam, and has since expanded to providing training for other professions. Chen Xiangdong, 49, of home tutoring platform Genshuixue saw his wealth rise eight-fold to US$11.8bn to break him into the Top 50, one of the fastest risers on this year’s list.
“Despite the impact of Covid-19, stockmarkets have risen dramatically. The Shenzhen ChiNext had a barnstorming year, up 70% year on year, Nasdaq was up 48% and the Shenzhen main board up 45%, which, combined with a flurry of new IPOs, was the main drive behind the record wealth creation on this year’s Hurun China Rich List,” said Hoogewerf.
Summary
l 2398 individuals made the cut of CNY 2 billion, up 32% or 579 individuals on last year.
l 1921 individuals saw their wealth grow, up from 949 last year, of which 743 were new entrants, up from 192. 641 saw their wealth shrink or stay the same, down from 1136 last year, of which 164 dropped out of the list, down from 266. “The world has never seen wealth created at this speed before,” said Hoogewerf.
l Total wealth was up 54% or US$1.5 trillion to US$4.0 trillion.
l 55 individuals have US$10 billion or more, up 23 or 70% and the cut-off to make the Top 10 was up 70% to US$29.4 billion. “The Chinese economy has been more resilient to the outbreak than many might have expected, making it a bumper year for China’s entrepreneurs.”
l 256 people under 40 made the list, 100 more than last year. 76 of them are self-made, 22 more than last year, led by Pinduoduo’s Colin Huang Zheng and Zhang Yiming of video-sharing and news aggregation platform Bytedance.
l 27 people born in the 90s made the list, 16 more than last year. Shenzhen-based Nie Yunchen, 29, of popular tea brand Heytea was the only self-made individual under 30.
l The average age was 55. “Born just before the Cultural Revolution, the average Hurun rich lister went to university in the early eighties and started their business in the mid to late nineties,” said Hoogewerf.
l Where they live. Shenzhen was the fastest-riser, adding 84 individuals, whilst Suzhou overtook HK to sixth place. Beijing has the highest concentration of richlisters, with 325 or 14% of the list, followed by Shenzhen on 275. Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Suzhou followed.
l By industry. Whilst 64% made their money from traditional sectors, there are now 34% that are from the new economy. Electronic components, new energy and new materials made up 63% of advanced manufacturing.
l Women made up 24.9%, down 2% on last year, of which 60% are self-made. Yang Huiyan, 39, scion of property developer Country Garden, is the richest woman with US$33bn, up 29%.
l Divorce. Du Weimin, 57, of biotech platform Kangtai divorced from Yuan Liping, 49, with a settlement of US$4.9bn. Du still has US$5.7bn.
l Down and out. Luckin Coffee’s main shareholders Lu Zhengyao, 51, and Jenny Qian Zhiya, 43, both dropped off the list after the share price collapsed on the back of a fraud.
l 26 individuals born outside of mainland China made the list, of which 4 are of non-Chinese origin: Americans John Oyler, 52, of Beijing-based cancer treatment developer BeiGene with US$2.5bn and Keith Kepler, 53, of EV battery producer Farasis with US$440 million; Dane Dan Friis, 51, of fashion brands Bestseller China with US$1bn; and Bangladeshi Arif Chowdhury, 40, of mobile phone brand Transsion with US$510 million.
l The proportion of political appointments dropped to 5.8% from 7.6% last year. 140 were delegates to the NPC or CPPCC, 2 more on last year. NPC delegates were up 2 to 74, whilst CPPCC delegates remained 66. Six are standing committee members of the CPPCC, 7 are vice chairmen of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
l 17 are in trouble with the law, of which 15 are under investigation and 2 in prison.
l In June, former richest man in China Huang Guangyu of Gome was released on parole after 12 years in prison. Huang’s wealth was up 24% to US$4.1bn, keeping him in the Top 200.
l Chinese star signs. Dogs and Monkeys had a good year, whilst those born in the Year of the Rabbit topped the list for the ninth consecutive year. This may be the Year of the Rat, but rats are still the worst performers.
l Stockmarkets and currency. “Despite the impact of Covid-19, stockmarkets have risen dramatically. The Shenzhen ChiNext had a storming year, up 70% year on year, Nasdaq was up 48% the Shenzhen main board up 45%,” said Hoogewerf. In the same period Shanghai’s main board was up 18%, whilst the Hang Seng was flat and the Chinese Yuan depreciated by 4% against the US dollar.
This is a translation of the summary of the Chinese press release. Please refer to the Chinese language version for the full release.
Top 10
There were three new faces in the Top 10 this year, led by Zhong Shanshan, and followed by Wang Wei at Number 4 and Qin Yinglin at Number 10.
The cutoff to make the Top 10 was up 70% to US$29.4bn. “Curiously, two of the Top 3 are based in Hangzhou,” said Hoogewerf.
Half of the Top 10 made their wealth from emerging industries with the other half from traditional industries.
Name | Wealth US$bn | Change | Business | Key Source of Wealth | Age | |
1- | Ma Yun & family | 58.8 | 45% | Alibaba | E-commerce, fintech | 56 |
2- | Ma Huateng | 57.4 | 50% | Tencent | Online games, fintech | 49 |
3* | Zhong Shanshan | 53.7 | New | YST | Drinks, pharmaceuticals | 66 |
4* | Wang Wei | 35.3 | 118% | SF | Express delivery | 50 |
5↓ | Xu Jiayin | 34.6 | 12% | Evergrande | Real estate | 62 |
6↓ | He Xiangjian & family | 33.1 | 25% | Midea | Home appliances | 78 |
6↓ | Yang Huiyan & family | 33.1 | 29% | Country Garden | Real estate | 39 |
8- | Ding Lei | 32.4 | 76% | Netease | Online games | 49 |
8↓ | Huang Zheng | 32.4 | 63% | Pinduoduo | E-commerce | 40 |
10* | Qin Yinglin & Qian Ying | 29.4 | 100% | Muyuan | Pork production | 55, 54 |
Source: HENGCHANGSHAOFANG·Hurun China Rich List 2020
↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy *New to top 10
Jack Ma Yun, 56, was up US$18bn to US$58.8bn to take the crown of Richest Man in China for the fourth overall and third time in a row. The big news this year for Ma is the impending IPO of Ant, expected to be the largest IPO of the year, with a valuation exceeding US$200bn. Alibaba this year listed in HK, becoming the first internet company to have a dual listing in New York and Hong Kong, and shooting its valuation up closing in on US$800bn. Ma is planning to donate 600 million shares in Ant to charity, which would bring his total donations to over US$10bn.
Pony Ma Huateng was 2nd with US$57.4bn, up US$19bn, the biggest single increase by anyone from this year’s list. With a market cap also above US$700bn, Tencent's revenue in the first half of this year was US$22bn with profits of US$7.7bn, up 25%.
Zhong Shanshan, 66, shot straight into the list to third place with US$53.7bn, on the back of the lPO of his bottled water company Nongfu and a vaccination company Wantai Biotechnology.
Wang Wei, 50, was 4th with US$35.3bn, up 8 places to break into the Top 10. SF Express’ value rose to US$60bn at its peak.
Xu Jiayin, 62, was 5th with US$34.6bn, down two places. In September, Evergrande, which has a market value of close to US$40bn, won approval to IPO its property management business.
He Xiangjian & family were 6th with US$33.1bn, down two places. Media, the world’s largest electrical appliance company, best-known for its air conditioners, last year posted revenues of US$41bn.
Yang Huiyan, 39, and family tied for 6th with US$33.1bn, down 1 place. In the first half of this year, Country Garden had a total revenue of US$27bn and has been adding hundreds of patents for its robotics business.
Ding Lei, 49, was 8th with US$32.4bn, up US$14bn. In June, Netease was one of the first batch of Chinese internet companies to dual list in Hong Kong. Netease has a market value of over US$60bn.
Huang Zheng, 40, tied for 8th with US$32.4bn, up 63%, but nonetheless down 1 place. Pinduoduo joined the club of businesses worth US$100bn in August. “By giving away 14% of Pinduoduo, Huang narrowly missed out on becoming China's richest man in April,” said Hoogewerf.
Qin Yinglin, 55, & Qian Ying, 54, of pork producer Muyuan, saw their wealth double to US$29.4bn, propelling them into the Top 10 for the first time. Muyuan has a market value of over US$50bn, on the back of sales of over US$3bn and profits of US$1.5bn.
Industry Analysis
36% of the list are in emerging industries, while 64% are in traditional industries. “There is a clear trend towards emerging industries, as would be expected, but the speed of evolution away from traditional industries is faster than many might have expected,” said Hoogewerf.
Manufacturing, healthcare and real estate were the Big Three sources of wealth, for 23.8%, 10.9% and 10.6%.
Within manufacturing, 60% is now advanced manufacturing, led by the likes of electronic components (eg Zhou Qunfei and Zheng Junlong from Lens), new energy (eg Zeng Yuqun of CATL ) and new materials accounted for 63% of the list, led by; the representative of new energy is Zeng Yuqun of CATL; the representatives of New Materials (eg Yu Xiaoning and Han Limei of Dawn).
With retail, half is now e-commerce.
Within healthcare, 60% is now non-traditional healthcare.
Industry Analysis
Industry | % | Richest Individual | Company | |
1 | Manufacturing | 23.8% | Lei Jun | Xiaomi |
2 | Healthcare | 10.9% | Jiang Rensheng, Zhong Huijuan | Zhifei, Hansoh |
3 | Real estate | 10.6% | Xu Jiayin | Evergrande |
4 | Investments | 6.1% | Lin Li | Liye |
5 | Chemicals | 5.5% | Chen Jianhua & Fan Hongwei | Hengli |
6 | F&B | 5.0% | Zhong Shanshan | YST |
7 | Retail | 4.6% | Ma Yun | Alibaba |
8 | Application software | 3.7% | Yuan Zheng | Zoom |
9 | Media & Entertainment | 2.8% | Ma Huateng | Tencent |
10 | Apparel | 2.5% | Ma Jianrong & family | Shenzhou |
11 | Construction | 2.3% | Yan Hao | China Pacific Construction |
12 | Non-ferrous metals | 1.9% | Liu Yongxing & Liu Xiangyu | East Hope |
Source: HENGCHANGSHAOFANG·Hurun China Rich List 2020
Residences
Residences | No. of indiv. (change yoy) | Residences | No. of indiv. (change yoy) | |||
1 - | Beijing | 325 (+39) | 26 - | Zhengzhou | 17 (+3) | |
2 - | Shenzhen | 275 (+84) | 28↑ | Zhongshan | 16 (+8) | |
3 - | Shanghai | 216 (+49) | 28↑ | Zhuhai | 16 (+5) | |
4 - | Hangzhou | 155 (+34) | 30↑ | Huzhou | 15 (+5) | |
5 - | Guangzhou | 117 (+27) | 31↓ | Shantou | 14 (+2) | |
6↑ | Suzhou | 70 (+31) | 31↓ | Quanzhou | 14 (+2) | |
7↓ | Hong Kong | 62 (+9) | 33↓ | Qingdao | 13 (-1) | |
8↑ | Foshan | 59 (+23) | 34↑ | Xi'an | 12 (+4) | |
9↓ | Chengdu | 54 (+17) | 35↓ | Shenyang | 11 (+2) | |
10 - | Ningbo | 50 (+21) | 35↑ | Shijiazhuang | 11 (+3) | |
11↑ | Xiamen | 45 (+18) | 35↑ | Suqian | 11 (+8) | |
12↑ | Wuxi | 42 (+16) | 35↑ | Zibo | 11 (+8) | |
13↓ | Dongguan | 37 (+9) | 39↓ | Ordos | 10 (0) | |
14↑ | Changsha | 34 (+14) | 39↑ | Jinhua | 10 (+3) | |
14↓ | Shaoxing | 34 (+6) | 39↓ | Nantong | 10 (+1) | |
16↓ | Nanjing | 31 (+6) | 39↑ | Singapore | 10 (+4) | |
16 - | Chongqing | 31 (+7) | 43↓ | Langfang | 9 (+1) | |
18↑ | Changzhou | 27 (+10) | 43↓ | Yunfu | 9 (0) | |
18↓ | Fuzhou | 27 (+5) | 45 | Hohhot | 8 (+4) | |
20↑ | Jiaxing | 23 (+6) | 45 | Kunming | 8 (+2) | |
20↓ | Tianjin | 23 (+1) | 45 | Lianyungang | 8 (0) | |
22↓ | Wenzhou | 22 (+5) | 45 | Ningde | 8 (+1) | |
22↓ | Wuhan | 22 (+5) | 45 | Taiyuan | 8 (-1) | |
22↓ | Yantai | 22 (+4) | 45 | Taizhou | 8 (+3) | |
25 - | Taizhou | 19 (+3) | 45 | Weihai | 8 (+3) | |
26↑ | Hefei | 17 (+4) | 45 | Weifang | 8 (+5) |
Source: HENGCHANGSHAOFANG·Hurun China Rich List 2020
↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy
Points of Interest
The proportion of political appointments down to 5.8% from 7.6% last year. 140 of the entrepreneurs on the list are delegates of National People's Congress (74, up 2) or members of the CPPCC (66), two more than last year.
5 are members of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC: Xu Jiayin, Xu Jiankang, Xu Rongmao, Nan Cunhui and Liu Changle.
7 are vice chairmen of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce: Li Shufu, Li Dongsheng, Zhang Jindong, Nan Cunhui, Liang Wengen, Lei Jun and Huang Li.
Social Media Impact
Wang Jianlin’s son Wang Sicong rose to have the largest social media following. Last year’s number one actress Zhao Wei dropped out of the list this year.
Social Media Impact
Name | Weibo Followers million (change yoy) | |
1↑ | Wang Sicong | 42 (-2.4) |
2↑ | Jack Ma | 26 (+1.5) |
3↑ | Lei Jun | 23 (+1.6) |
4↑ | Pan Shiyi | 20 (+0.49) |
5↑ | Yang Yuanqing | 17 (-0.15) |
6↑ | Yu Minhong | 16 (+0.6) |
7↑ | Jiang Nanchun | 13 (+0.01) |
8↑ | Zhou Hongyi | 12 (-0.01) |
9↑ | Xu Xiaoping | 11.6 (-0.08) |
10↑ | Zhang Xin | 10 (-0.05) |
11↑ | Li Dongsheng | 9.1 (-0.03) |
12↑ | Wang Changtian | 9 (-0.06) |
13↑ | Zhang Ying | 8.7 (+0.03) |
14↑ | Shi Yuzhu | 8.6 (-0.01) |
15↑ | Li Yifei | 7.3 (-0.02) |
16↑ | Jiang Xipei | 7 (-0.01) |
17↑ | Wang Xing | 6 (+0.01) |
Source: Weibo as of 25 September 2020
↑ Rank increase yoy
Spreading the love
Soya sauce brand Haitian and the extended Alibaba Group led the way, creating 27 individuals each on this year’s list. Mobile phone brand Transsion was third with 10.
The companies with the largest number of rich listers
company | No. of indiv. (change yoy) | |
1↑ | Haitian | 27 (+19) |
1 - | Alibaba & Ant | 27 (+14) |
3 * | Transsion | 10 (+9) |
4 * | Yanghe | 9 (+7) |
4↓ | Xiaomi | 9 (0) |
4↓ | Wens | 9 (0) |
4 * | SF | 9 (+5) |
8↑ | CVTE | 8 (+2) |
8↓ | CATL | 8 (+1) |
10↓ | Sany | 7 (0) |
10↓ | Meijing Energy | 7 (0) |
10 * | Inovance Technology | 7 (+6) |
Source: HENGCHANGSHAOFANG·Hurun China Rich List 2020
↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy *New to this
In trouble with the law
17 are in trouble with the law, of which 15 are under investigation and 2 are in prison.
In prison: Wang Zhenhua of Seazen; Guan Yanbin of Sunflower Pharmaceutical.
Under investigation: Xiao Jianhua of Tomorrow Holdings, Yan Jinggang of Zhong Ji, Liu Dequn of Morningstar Network Technology, Wang Wenliang of Dandong Harbour, Qiao Tianming of JianNanchun, Zhong Hangen of Huifeng Nonghua, Zhongyu of Kangde Xin, Sun Yanchao of Bao Ta Petrochemical, Yang Zhuoshu of Zhuoda, Gao Junfang of Chang Sheng Bio, Tang Jun of Xiaohuanggou, Wang Yue of Kingnet, Feng Xin of Storm, Ma Xingtian of Kangmei and Yin Mingshan of Lifan.
Shares frozen: Some of seen their shares frozen including Zheng Yuewen of Creat Group, Lu Zhengyao of UCAR, Fu Jun of Macrolink, Zhou Zheng of SkyOcean, Huang Qisen of Tahoe and Xiao Yongming of Zangge.
Chinese Star Signs
Star Sign | 2020% | 2019% | 2020 Richest Individual | Other Representatives | |
1 - | Rabbit | 11.8% | 12.4% | Liu Yonghao | Li Shufu, Zhang Jindong |
2 - | Dragon | 10.2% | 9.8% | Ma Yun | Li Yongxin, Wu Yajun |
3 - | Snake | 8.7% | 9.2% | Qin Yinglin | Jiang Rensheng, Chen Bang |
4↑ | Dog | 8.6% | 8.0% | Wang Wei | Xu Jiayin, Sun Piaoyang |
4↑ | Monkey | 8.6% | 8.4% | Huang Zheng | Pang Kang, Zeng Yuqun |
6↓ | Tiger | 8.2% | 8.9% | Yan Hao | Xu Rongmao, Xu Hang |
7↑ | Rooster | 7.8% | 7.4% | Yang Huiyan | Lei Jun, Zong Qinghou |
8 - | Horse | 7.7% | 7.8% | Zhong Shanshan | He Xiangjian, Wang Jianlin |
9↓ | Ram | 7.6% | 8.0% | Wang Xing | Guo Guangchang, Shen Nanpeng |
10↓ | Pig | 7.2% | 7.6% | Ma Huateng | Ding Lei, Zhang Yiming |
11 - | Ox | 7.0% | 6.5% | Liu Qiangdong | Zhong Huijuan, Chen Tianqiao |
12 - | Rat | 6.8% | 6.0% | Zhang Zhidong | Zhang Lei, Jing Boxian |
Source: HENGCHANGSHAOFANG·Hurun China Rich List 2020
↑ Rank increase yoy ↓ Rank decrease yoy - No Rank change yoy
Cut-off
Top 10 Cut-off US$m | Top 50 Cut-off US$m | Top 100 Cut-off US$m | Top 500 Cut-off US$m | Top 1000 Cut-off US$m | |
1999 | 145 | 7 | - | - | - |
2000 | 319 | 51 | - | - | - |
2001 | 507 | 130 | 5 | - | - |
2002 | 435 | 174 | 7 | - | - |
2003 | 580 | 217 | 130 | - | - |
2004 | 652 | 275 | 181 | - | - |
2005 | 913 | 377 | 246 | - | - |
2006 | 1594 | 609 | 435 | 116 | - |
2007 | 5,217 | 1,739 | 1,087 | 232 | - |
2008 | 2,899 | 1,449 | 986 | 246 | 101 |
2009 | 4,058 | 2,101 | 1,087 | 320 | 145 |
2010 | 5,240 | 2,300 | 1,510 | 440 | 240 |
2011 | 5,710 | 2,700 | 1,750 | 590 | 320 |
2012 | 5,400 | 2,400 | 1,670 | 560 | 290 |
2013 | 6,100 | 3,000 | 1,970 | 660 | 325 |
2014 | 7,500 | 3,300 | 2,300 | 750 | 400 |
2015 | 10,200 | 4,700 | 3,200 | 1,090 | 610 |
2016 | 11,600 | 4,500 | 3.300 | 1,100 | 600 |
2017 | 16,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 1,190 | 670 |
2018 | 16,000 | 6,100 | 4,200 | 1,160 | 590 |
2019 | 17,000 | 7,400 | 4,300 | 1,200 | 600 |
2020 | 29,400 | 10,300 | 6,600 | 1,700 | 850 |
Historical Stats
Year | No. of Dollar Billionaires | No. of people on list | Cut-off US$m | Number One | Age | Wealth US$bn |
1999 | 0 | 50 | 6 | Rong Yiren | 83 | 1 |
2000 | 2 | 50 | 42 | Rong Yiren | 84 | 2 |
2001 | 1 | 100 | 60 | Liu Yongxing, Liu Yonghao & brothers | 53, 50 | 1 |
2002 | 0 | 100 | 84 | Larry Rong Zhijian | 60 | 0.85 |
2003 | 0 | 100 | 110 | William Ding Lei | 32 | 0.9 |
2004 | 3 | 100 | 150 | Huang Guangyu | 36 | 1 |
2005 | 7 | 400 | 60 | Huang Guangyu | 37 | 2 |
2006 | 18 | 500 | 100 | Zhang Yin & family | 49 | 3 |
2007 | 106 | 800 | 105 | Yang Huiyan | 25 | 18 |
2008 | 101 | 1000 | 100 | Huang Guangyu | 39 | 6 |
2009 | 129 | 1000 | 150 | Wang Chuanfu | 43 | 5 |
2010 | 189 | 1363 | 150 | Zong Qinghou | 65 | 12 |
2011 | 254 | 1000 | 320 | Liang Wen’gen | 55 | 11 |
2012 | 251 | 1000 | 290 | Zong Qinghou | 67 | 12.6 |
2013 | 315 | 1000 | 325 | Wang Jianlin | 59 | 22 |
2014 | 354 | 1271 | 330 | Jack Ma Yun | 50 | 25.8 |
2015 | 596 | 1877 | 310 | Wang Jianlin | 61 | 34.4 |
2016 | 594 | 2056 | 300 | Wang Jianlin | 62 | 32.1 |
2017 | 647 | 2130 | 300 | Xu Jiayin | 59 | 43 |
2018 | 620 | 1893 | 290 | Jack Ma Yun & family | 54 | 39 |
2019 | 621 | 1819 | 290 | Jack Ma Yun & family | 55 | 39 |
2020 | 878 | 2398 | 290 | Jack Ma Yun & family | 56 | 58.8 |
Methodology
The Hurun China Rich List is a snapshot of wealth as of August 28, the same month as that used for each of the last few years. The exchange rate used for the US dollar was CNY 6.8, for the Hong Kong dollar was CNY 0.88.
The list relates to Mainland Chinese, defined as someone born and brought up in Mainland China, no matter what passport they might hold today, as well as individuals born outside of Mainland China, but who made it here and reside here today.
Valuing the wealth of China’s richest is as much an art as it is a science. We have missed some people, many of whom go to extraordinary lengths to hide their wealth, but we believe the Hurun Rich List to be the most serious attempt to identify China’s top entrepreneurs and to measure their holdings. There are shareholders missing from the likes of Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Ping An and other big companies, where as little as 1/1000th ownership of the company is enough to make our cut. Our team of researchers has - for the twenty second year running - traveled the length and breadth of the country cross-checking information with entrepreneurs, local government, industry experts, journalists, bankers and regulators, as well as previous years’ databases. For non-listed companies our valuation was based on a comparison with their listed equivalents using prevailing industry Price/Earnings ratios.
People that ought perhaps to be on the list, but where we cannot find reliable date include the likes of Haier's Zhang Ruimin, PingAn's Ma Mingzhe, and Huawei's Sun Yafang, because they are hidden behind employee stock meetings.
HENGCHANGSHAOFANG ·Hurun China Rich List 2020 Top 100
Rank | Rank change | Name | Wealth US$m | Change in wealth | Business | Place of Residence | Key Source of Wealth | Age |
1 | 0 | Ma Yun & family | 58,800 | 45% | Alibaba | Zhejiang | E-commerce, fintech | 56 |
2 | 0 | Ma Huateng | 57,400 | 50% | Tencent | Guangdong | Internet services | 49 |
3 | New | Zhong Shanshan | 53,700 | New | YST | Zhejiang | Drinks, Pharmaceuticals | 66 |
4 | 8 | Wang Wei | 35,300 | 118% | SF | Hong Kong | Express delivery | 50 |
5 | -2 | Xu Jiayin | 34,600 | 12% | Evergrande | Guangdong | Real estate, investments | 62 |
6 | -2 | He Xiangjian & family | 33,100 | 25% | Midea | Guangdong | Home appliances, real estate | 78 |
6 | -1 | Yang Huiyan & family | 33,100 | 29% | Country Garden | Guangdong | Real estate, education | 39 |
8 | 0 | Ding Lei | 32,400 | 76% | Netease | Zhejiang | Internet services | 49 |
8 | -1 | Huang Zheng | 32,400 | 63% | Pinduoduo | Shanghai | E-commerce | 40 |
10 | 5 | Qin Yinglin & Qian Ying | 29,400 | 100% | Muyuan | Henan | Pig farming | 55, 54 |
11 | 12 | Pang Kang | 28,700 | 129% | Haitian | Guangdong | Food flavorings | 64 |
11 | -2 | Zhang Yong & Shu Ping | 28,700 | 63% | HaiDiLao | Singapore | Restaurants | 49, 50 |
13 | 16 | Lei Jun | 25,000 | 127% | Xiaomi | Beijing | IoT, Investments | 51 |
13 | 52 | Wang Xing | 25,000 | 325% | Meituan | Beijing | Life Service | 41 |
13 | 0 | Zhang Zhidong | 25,000 | 62% | Tencent | Guangdong | Internet services | 48 |
16 | 12 | Liu Qiangdong | 23,500 | 111% | JD | Beijing | E-commerce, Financial Services | 47 |
16 | 10 | Liu Yonghao & family | 23,500 | 100% | New Hope | Sichuan | Agriculture, finance | 69 |
18 | -9 | Yan Hao | 21,300 | 21% | China Pacific Construction | Jiangsu | Roads | 34 |
19 | 21 | Lu Zhongfang & Li Yongxin | 20,600 | 133% | Offcn | Beijing | Education | 78, 44 |
20 | -7 | Chen Jianhua & Fan Hongwei | 19,900 | 29% | Hengli | Jiangsu | Textiles, chemical fiber, real estate | 49, 53 |
20 | 30 | Jiang Rensheng & family | 19,900 | 160% | Zhifei | Chongqing | Vaccines | 67 |
20 | -15 | Zhong Huijuan | 19,900 | 61% | Hansoh | Jiangsu | Pharmaceuticals | 59 |
23 | -3 | Xu Rongmao & family | 19,100 | 37% | Shimao | Hong Kong | Real estate | 70 |
24 | 33 | Zeng Yuqun | 17,600 | 167% | CATL | Fujian | Battery technology | 52 |
24 | -9 | Li Shufu & family | 17,600 | 20% | Geely | Zhejiang | Car manufacturing | 57 |
24 | 6 | Xu Hang | 17,600 | 71% | Mindray, Parkland | Guangdong | Medical equipment, real estate | 58 |
27 | 13 | Li Xiting | 16,900 | 92% | Mindray | Guangdong | Pharmaceuticals | 69 |
27 | -22 | Sun Piaoyang | 16,900 | 26% | Hengrui | Jiangsu | Pharmaceuticals | 62 |
27 | 58 | Zhou Qunfei & Zheng Junlong | 16,900 | 233% | Lens | Hunan | Manufacturing | 50, 48 |
30 | 0 | Liu Yongxing & Liu Xiangyu | 16,200 | 57% | East Hope | Shanghai | Aluminium, feed | 72, 45 |
30 | -21 | Wang Jianlin & family | 16,200 | -8% | Wanda | Beijing | Real Estate | 66 |
30 | -7 | Wu Yajun & family | 16,200 | 29% | Longfor | Beijing | Real Estate | 56 |
30 | -4 | Yan Bin | 16,200 | 38% | Reignwood | Beijing | Red Bull, Real Estate | 66 |
30 | 48 | Yuan Zheng | 16,200 | 206% | Zoom | USA | video software | 50 |
30 | -10 | Zhang Yiming | 16,200 | 16% | ByteDance | Beijing | Social Meida | 37 |
36 | -21 | Wang Wenyin & family | 15,400 | 5% | Amer | Guangdong | Copper, Mining | 52 |
36 | -21 | Yao Zhenhua | 15,400 | 5% | Baoneng | Guangdong | Investments, real estate | 50 |
36 | -13 | Zong Qinghou & family | 15,400 | 24% | Wahaha | Zhejiang | Drinks | 75 |
36 | 159 | Zuo Hui | 15,400 | 483% | KE | Beijing | Real Estate Service | 49 |
40 | -25 | Zhang Jindong | 15,000 | 2% | Suning | Jiangsu | Retail, real estate | 57 |
41 | 6 | Chen Bang | 14,700 | 89% | Aier Ophthalmology | Hunan | Medical services | 55 |
42 | 17 | Zhang Bangxin | 14,000 | 116% | TAL Education | Beijing | Education | 39 |
43 | 3 | Shi Yonghong & Li Haiyan | 13,800 | 68% | Haidilao | Beijing | Restaurants | 50, - |
44 | 74 | Wang Laichun | 13,400 | 243% | Luxshare Precision | Guangdong | Consumer electronics | 53 |
44 | 74 | Wang Laisheng | 13,400 | 243% | Luxshare Precision | Guangdong | Consumer electronics | 56 |
46 | -26 | Lin Li | 13,200 | -5% | Liye | Guangdong | Financial, investments | 57 |
47 | 323 | Chen Xiangdong | 11,800 | 662% | Genshuixue | Beijing | Online Education | 49 |
48 | -14 | Li Yanhong & Ma Dongmin | 10,900 | 14% | Baidu | Beijing | Internet Information Services | 52, 50 |
49 | -16 | Sun Hongbin | 10,600 | 6% | Sunac | Tianjin | Real Estate | 57 |
50 | -6 | Dang Yanbao & family | 10,300 | 19% | Baofeng Energy | Ningxia | Coal Mining | 47 |
50 | -16 | Gong Hongjia & Chen Chunmei | 10,300 | 8% | Hikvision | Hong Kong | Video surveillance products | 55, 55 |
50 | -10 | Ma Jianrong & family | 10,300 | 17% | Shenzhou | Zhejiang | Textiles, apparel | 55 |
50 | -13 | Wang Yusuo & Zhao Baoju | 10,300 | 9% | ENN | Hebei | Gas, Energy | 56, 55 |
54 | -15 | Li Hua | 10,100 | 13% | Excellence | Guangdong | Real estate | 54 |
54 | 3 | Zhu Baoguo & family | 10,100 | 53% | Joint Care | Guangdong | Pharmaceuticals | 58 |
56 | -5 | Ji Haipeng & family | 9,900 | 34% | Logan Property | Guangdong | Real estate | 53 |
57 | 37 | Cheng Xue | 9,600 | 103% | Haitian | Guangdong | Food flavorings | 50 |