Hurun Rich List: China’s rich see decline in their wealth
An annual wealthy list revealed that the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid policies, and declining local stock markets all contributed to the worst decline in wealth among China’s super-rich in more over 20 years.
Only 1,305 persons made this year’s Hurun Rich list, which ranks China’s wealthiest individuals with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($690m), down 11% from last year. Their wealth was $3.5 trillion, a decrease of 18% from the previous year.
According to the report, there were 239 fewer billionaires this year and 29 fewer people with $10 billion or more in wealth. Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and main researcher of Hurun Report, which prepares the list, claimed that “this year has seen the biggest reduction in the Hurun China Rich List of the last 24 years.”
The crisis in Ukraine and China’s slowing economic growth, which has in turn been made worse by the nation’s extremely harsh Covid rules and a protracted property downturn, have had a significant impact on the world economy’s prospects.
Including the 2.4% Covid-affected pace in 2020, the International Monetary Fund predicts that China’s economy will only grow by 3.2% in 2022, which would be the lowest rate since the 1980s.
Concerns that President Xi Jinping will sacrifice economic growth for ideology and a two-year regulatory crackdown that has hit China’s biggest tech names like Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have also sapped investor confidence, sending Hong Kong and mainland stock markets plunging in recent weeks.
Zhong Shanshan, whose listed businesses include the vaccine producer Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise and water bottler Nongfu Spring, won the top spot on the list for the second consecutive year with a fortune that increased 17% to $65 billion.
Zhang Yiming, the creator of ByteDance, which owns TikTok, came in second but witnessed a 28% decline in his wealth to $35 billion as a result of a decline in ByteDance’s valuation. Zeng Yuqun, chairman of the massive battery manufacturer CATL, came in third.
Hurun Rich List: China’s rich see decline in their wealth
The highest decline in wealth on the 2022 list was experienced by Yang Huiyan, the entrepreneur behind Country Garden Holdings, which, like many other Chinese firms, has been struggling with debt problems.
Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent, experienced the second-largest decline, losing $14.6 billion amid declining tech stock prices to move up to fifth place. Jack Ma, the father of Alibaba, and his family dropped four spots to land at number nine.
