Trending

Stories

Fortunes of China’s Internet Tycoons Soar Amid a Pandemic

Must Read

Jack Ma, the founder of eCommerce giant Alibaba, held onto his status as China’s richest tycoon this year as surging demand for online shopping and other services during the coronavirus pandemic swelled the fortunes of internet entrepreneurs, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Ma’s fortune rose 45% percent over 2019 to 58.8 billion, according to Hurun Research Institute, which follows the country’s wealth.

Also Read

Ma Huateng, founder of Tencent, which operates the popular WeChat messaging service, was No. 2 at 57.4 billion, up 50%. Debuting at No. 3 was Zhong Shanshan, chairman of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, with 53.7 billion following his company’s Hong Kong stock market debut in September.

Rising share prices created an average of five new Chinese entrepreneurs worth at least 1 billion every week over the past year, according to Hurun’s founder, Rupert Hoogewerf.

The world has never seen this much wealth created in just one year, said Hoogewerf in a statement. China’s entrepreneurs have done much better than expected. Despite Covid-19 they have risen to record levels.

The richest woman on the list was Yang Huiyan of real estate developer Country Garden. She was No. 6 at 33 billion, up 29% from last year.

Rankings of China’s richest change abruptly from year to year as real estate, technology and other industries rise and fall in the fast-evolving economy.

This year, the coronavirus boosted the fortunes of Alibaba’s Ma and other internet entrepreneurs as the shutdown of the Chinese economy to fight the virus propelled demand for online shopping and business tools.

Eric Yuan of California-based video conference platform Zoom rose more than 10 billion to 16.2 billion. Li Yongxin of Offcn, an online work training platform, more than doubled to 20.6 billion. Chen Xiangdong of tutoring platform

Genshuixue rose eightfold to 11.8 billion.

Ma, 56, retired as Alibaba chairman last year and also is a shareholder in Ant Group, a payments service spun off from Alibaba. It is preparing for a public share offering after being valued at 150 billion in a 2017 private financing round, which will add to Ma’s fortune.

Entrepreneurs in electric cars, an industry the ruling Communist Party is promoting, also saw their fortunes swell.

Zeng Yuqun of battery producer CATL tripled to 17.6 billion. He Xiaopeng of electric car brand Xpeng, rose 80% to 6.6 billion following a stock market debut in New York. Li Bin of NIO rose 300% to 3.5 billion.

Business leaders who tumbled down the list included Ren Zhengfei, founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei. US export controls imposed in a feud with Beijing over technology and security threaten to cripple its sales of smartphones and switching equipment. Ren’s net worth declined 10% to 2.8 billion, according to Hurun.

Lei Jun of rival smartphone brand Xiaomi saw his fortune more than double to 25 billion as its share price surged, possibly boosted by expectations sales will benefit from Huawei’s troubles.

Stay updated

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an update on the latest tech, gaming, startup, how to guide, deals and more.

Latest

Stories

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Latest

Grow Your Business

Place your brand in front of tech-savvy audience. Partner with us to build brand awareness, increase website traffic, generate qualified leads, and grow your business.

- Advertisement -

Related

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Nvidia & MediaTek Collaborate on Connected Car Tech Sony Unveils Project Q: A Next-Gen Handheld Game Console Snapchat Hits 200M+ Users in India, Introduces AI Chatbot Super Mario Bros. Movie: 6.4 Million Tickets Sold in Japan Samsung Galaxy A14 Launches in India with Impressive Features BGMI Returns: Battlegrounds Mobile India Now on Play Store Twitter Accuses Microsoft of Data Use Policy Violation GIFs take over Instagram comments, unleashing creative expressions! The First US State to Ban TikTok: Montana’s Bold Move Adobe Unveils New Product Line for Digital Marketing Advancements
Nvidia & MediaTek Collaborate on Connected Car Tech Sony Unveils Project Q: A Next-Gen Handheld Game Console Snapchat Hits 200M+ Users in India, Introduces AI Chatbot Super Mario Bros. Movie: 6.4 Million Tickets Sold in Japan Samsung Galaxy A14 Launches in India with Impressive Features BGMI Returns: Battlegrounds Mobile India Now on Play Store Twitter Accuses Microsoft of Data Use Policy Violation GIFs take over Instagram comments, unleashing creative expressions!