The annual rich list in China has crowned ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming as the country’s richest person, with a personal wealth of $49.3 billion. This marks the 18th individual to hold this title since the list was first published 26 years ago. Despite a legal battle over its U.S. assets, ByteDance saw a 30% growth in global revenue last year, contributing to Zhang’s fortune. Bottled water magnate Zhong Shanshan slipped to second place with a fortune of $47.9 billion.
Tencent’s founder, Pony Ma, came in third on the list, while Colin Huang, founder of PDD Holdings, dropped to fourth place. The number of billionaires on the list decreased by 142 to 753, reflecting a challenging year for China’s economy and stock markets. The real estate sector saw the most significant decrease in fortunes, while consumer electronics, particularly Xiaomi, experienced growth.
On the other hand, solar panel, lithium battery, and EV makers faced challenges due to increased competition and tariff threats, resulting in wealth declines. Solar panel makers saw an 80% decrease from the peak in 2021, while battery and EV makers were down by half and a quarter, respectively. Overall, China’s rich list showed fluctuations in wealth across different industries, with technology companies like ByteDance and Tencent continuing to perform well.
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