In this article, we will take a look at the 30 wealthiest people in China. We will also discuss the Chinese economy and some of the major industries.
An Analysis of the Chinese Economy
On May 29, Reuters reported that China is seeing signs of economic recovery after a long period of sluggish economic growth. Consumer spending in China has started to grow, and the government is actively addressing issues within the real estate industry. China’s economy is expected to expand by 5% by the end of this year, from a previous forecast of 4.6%. The IMF reportedly raised its GDP targets for 2024 and 2025 by 0.4 percentage points. On the flip side, the IMF predicts the Chinese economy to drop to 3.3% by 2029 due to its aging population and slow productivity rates. The IMF revised its GDP targets after China reported stronger-than-expected results in the first quarter of 2024. China is now expected to expand by 5% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025. While the economy is on track to meet its economic targets, deflationary pressures continue to act as a deterrent to the economic prosperity of China, decreasing consumer confidence. You can also read our piece on the wealthiest people in South Korea.
Are Chinese Investments in Cloud Working Out?
On October 9, 2023, CNBC reported that the Chinese government intends to increase the country’s computing power by 50% by 2025, to 300 exaflops. Exaflop is a performance metric for a supercomputer measuring at least one quintillion floating point operations per second. The government also plans to add six new government departments. The government has deduced that for every 1 yuan they invest in computing power, it returns 3 to 4 yuan of economic output. The need to expand China’s computing power is immense, especially in AI, as companies continue to launch AI products for mass consumers and businesses.
On June 27, Canalys reported that cloud infrastructure spending in Mainland China reached $9.2 billion, up by 20%, year-over-year, in Q1 2024. Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Cloud, and Tencent Cloud account for 72% of the total market in China, a decrease of 2% from the previous quarter. Alibaba accounted for 37% of the spend, 19% of the spend was made by Huawei Cloud, and 16% by Tencent Cloud. While Alibaba Cloud had a market share of 39% in China, the company reported just 2% year-over-year in revenue growth in Q3 2023. Overall, the cloud segment slowed down by 10% in 2022 and 12% in 2023.
Alibaba and its Expansion in Cloud Computing
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is an e-commerce and technology company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company, commonly referred to as Alibaba, has an immense focus on developing sophisticated and affordable technology. Alibaba Cloud, also known as Aliyun, is the company’s cloud computing infrastructure that provides computing products to businesses. Some of its products include Elastic Compute Services, CloudBox, Alibaba Cloud Linux, Edge Node Services, and Elastic Block Storage, to name a few.
On May 23, the company expanded the availability of its cloud computing products in Mexico for the first time. Alibaba Group also plans to open new data centers in Malaysia, Thailand, and South Korea over the next three years. While Alibaba accounts for only 5% of the global cloud market share, it has captured 39% of the market in China. It recently launched its latest version of large language models after over 90,000 deployments were made by the company. Its latest large language model, Tongyi Qianwen Qwen2.5, is capable of understanding and formulating answers to questions, code, and reasoning in its natural language.
The company has made significant moves in AI to improve the customer experience. Revenue related to development in AI expanded by triple digits year-over-year. The company plans to establish a competitive edge in the cloud by offering unique offerings at low prices. Over 17,000 small to medium enterprises have subscribed to the company’s AI business helper. In the final quarter of 2024, AI-optimized product searches grew by 37%. Moreover, the company has strategically optimized its cross-border synergies to deliver 5 to 10-day delivery completion rates, up by double digits year-over-year. While concerns related to the macro environment in China persist, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) expansion abroad and price cuts may benefit the company.
Now that we have studied the Chinese economy and the most dominant industry, let’s take a look at the 30 wealthiest people in China. You can also take a look at the wealthiest people in Hong Kong.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 30 wealthiest people in China, we utilized the real time billionaires data from Forbes and ranked the wealthiest people in China in ascending order of their net worths, as of June 24.
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30 Wealthiest People in China
30. Ma Jianrong
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $7.4 Billion
Ma Jianrong is the 30th richest person in China. He is the chairperson of International Group Holdings, a prominent company in the knitwear and garments industries. The company has plants in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
29. Wang Yusuo
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $7.4 Billion
Wang Yusuo & Family ranks 29th on our list of the richest people in China. Wang is the owner of ENN Group, a leading energy company in the United States. The company was founded in 1993 and is home to more than 40,000 employees. It is one of the largest clean energy distributors in China.
28. Xu Shihui
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $7.9 Billion
Xu Shihui is one of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $7.9 billion. He is the chairperson of Dali Food Group, a prominent Chinese snack and beverage company. The company went public in 2015 and has some of the most popular potato chips, tea, and soda crackers in China.
27. Zhu Yi
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $8.0 Billion
Zhu Yi ranks 27th on our list of the richest people in China. He is the chairman and CEO of Biokin Pharmaceutical, a leading drug company in China. The company was listed on the stock exchange in January 2023.
26. Lin Muqin
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $8.1 Billion
Lin Muqin is one of the richest people in China. Him and his family have a net worth of $8.1 billion. He is the chairperson of Eastroc Beverage, a leading energy drink maker. He is the 319th richest person in the world, as of June 24, 2024.
25. Sun Piaoyang
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $8.4 Billion
Sun Piaoyang is the 25th richest person in China, with a net worth of $8.4 billion. He became the head of Jiangsu Hengrui in 1990 at the age of 32. His wife, Zhong Huijuan, is the chairwoman and CEO of Hanso Pharmaceutical.
24. Zhong Huijuan
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $8.7 Billion
Zhong Huijuan is one of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $8.7 billion. She is the chairwoman of Hansoh Pharmaceutical, operating in the oncology, psychoactive, antidiabetic, and other drugs industries. She owns two-thirds of the company with her daughter, Sun Yuan.
23. Li Shuirong
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $9.2 Billion
Li Shuirong ranks 23rd on our list of the richest people in China. He is the chairman of Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, in the petrochemicals, logistics, and real estate industries. He started his first business in 1989.
22. Wang Xing
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $9.6 Billion
Wang Xing is one of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $9.6 billion. He is the chief executive officer and founder of Meituan. Meituan is a group made through a 2015 merger between Meituan and Dianping.com. Meituan Dianping became a publicly listed company in 2018.
21. Liu Yongxing
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $9.9 Billion
Liu Yongxing ranks 21st on our list of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $9.9 billion. He is the chairman of East Hope Group, operating in the heavy, agriculture, and real estate industries. He formed the company in the 1990s.
20. Sky Xu
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $11.2 Billion
Sky Xu has a net worth of 11.2 billion, contributing to his ranking on our list of the richest people in China. He is the founder of Shein, a prominent fast fashion company with customers from across the globe. The company hit a valuation of $100 billion in 2022 and opened its first distribution center in the US in the same year.
19. Yu Yong
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $11.5 Billion
Yu Yong ranks 19th on our list of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $11.5 billion. He is the founder of Cathay Fortune Corp., which is an investor in China Molybdenum, a leading mining company. He also owns a stake in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a lithium battery maker.
18. Wei Jianjun
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $12.1 Billion
Wei Jianjun is one of the richest people in China. Him and his family have a net worth of $12.1 billion. He runs Great Wall Motor, one of the largest SUV manufacturers in China. He took over the company in 1990 at the age of 26.
17. Zheng Shuliang
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $12.2 Billion
Zheng Shuliang is one of the richest people in China. She is the vice chairman of China Hongqiao Group. Her late husband, Zhang Shiping, founded the company and built her a multi-billion dollar business before he died in 2019.
16. Huang Shilin
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $12.2 Billion
Huang Shilin ranks 16th on our list of the richest people in China. He used to be the vice chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a prominent battery supplier. The company went public in 2018. Huang resigned from the board in August 2022.
15. Zhang Zhidong
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $12.7 Billion
Zhang Zhidong, commonly known as Tony Zhang, ranks 15th on our list of the richest people in China. He is the co-founder of Tencent Holdings. He stepped down from his position in 2014 and is currently an advisor and honorary dean at Tencent Academy.
14. Eric Li
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $13.0 Billion
With a net worth of $13 billion, Eric Li ranks 14th on our list of the richest people in China. He is commonly referred to as Li Shuru and is the chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings. He also acquired Volvo, a Swedish automaker brand. His company, Geely, also holds stakes in Aston Martin and Lotus in the United Kingdom.
13. Wang Wei
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $13.0 Billion
Wang Wei has a net worth of $13 billion, contributing to its ranking on our list of the richest people in China. He is the chairman of S.F Holding which he founded in 1993. The company is particularly popular for its SF Express brand. The company went public in 2017 and had a second listing in 2023.
12. Dang Yanbao
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $14.1 Billion
Dang Yanbao ranks 12th on our list of the richest people in China. He is the chair member of Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group, a leading supplier of coal and chemical products. Before setting up Baofeng Energy in 2005, he worked in the investment and building materials industry. He also owns Baofeng New Energy, a solar company on its way to becoming a publicly listed company.
11. Lu Xiangyang
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $14.6 Billion
Lu Xiangyang has a net worth of $14.6 billion, contributing to its ranking as one of the richest people in China. He, and his cousin Wang Chuanfu, co-founded BYD, a leading battery maker and Tesla competitor. He is currently the chairman of the company and also runs an investment firm Youngy Investment Holding Group.
10. Lei Jun
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $14.8 Billion
Lei Jun ranks 10th on our list of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $14.8 billion. He is the co-founder and chairman of Xiaomi, a leading smartphone brand. As of today, Xiaomi has also penetrated the electric vehicle industry. He is also a chair member of Kingsoft and is an investor in JOYY Inc.
9. Qin Yinglin
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $17.1 Billion
Qin Yinglin is one of the richest people in China, with a net worth of $17.1 billion. He is the chairman of Muyuan Foods. He, along with his wife, started the company in 1992 with just 22 pigs. The company was then listed in Switzerland.
8. Wang Chuanfu
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $18.5 Billion
Wang Chuanfu ranks eighth on our list of the richest people in China. He has built BYD to become one of the world’s largest electric vehicle companies in the world. Wang co-founded the company in the 1990s. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway owns less than 10% of the company.
7. Jack Ma
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $24.6 Billion
Jack Ma has a net worth of $24.7 billion, contributing to its ranking on our list. Jack Ma is the co-founder of Alibaba Group, one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the world. He stepped down from his position as chairman in 2019.
6. He Xiangjian
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $24.7 Billion
He Xiangjian ranks seventh on our list, with a net worth of $24.7 billion. He Xiangjian established Midea Group as one of the largest appliance companies in China. The group has over 200 subsidiaries across the globe. He stepped down from his position in 2012.
5. William Ding
Net Worth as of June 24, 2024: $29.3 Billion
William Ding ranks fifth on our list of the richest people in China. He is the chief executive officer of NetEase, an online gaming company. The company diversified its offerings in e-commerce, movies, and online music. He was the richest person in China in 2003.