Chinese Billionaires Drop Off Rich List

Zhong of Nongfu Spring is China's wealthiest man

China's Covid-19 restrictions which severely slowed down the economy, and the depreciation of the yuan led to 229 people losing their billionaire status, according to a new rich list compiled by Hurun Report.

They accounted for more than half of the 445 people worldwide who lost their status as US-dollar billionaires, and as a result dropped off the Hurun Global Rich List. This is the biggest decline in Chinese billionaires since the list was first published in 2013.

However at the same time, China added the largest number of new billionaires at 69, based on their net worth as of January 16 this year.

Tencent's Ma has a net worth of US$39 billion

Topping the list is Zhong Shanshan, 69, founder of water bottle brand Nongfu Spring with US$69 billion, down 4 percent year on year. He is also the world's 15th richest person.

Next is Pony Ma, 52, of Tencent with US$39 billion, up two spots from last year despite losing 25 percent of his net worth. Ma is followed closely by TikTok parent company Bytedance's Zhang Yiming, 40, whose wealth shrank by 31 percent to US$37 billion. 

Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun dropped from fifth to ninth place, as his net worth fell 32 percent to US$25 billion, and makes him the 52nd wealthiest person in the world.

Li Ka-shing continues to be Hong Kong's wealthiest person and 39th richest in the world at US$31 billion, a drop of 6 percent from a year ago.

Zhang still US$37B rich despite TikTok bans

"Interest rate hikes, the appreciation of the US dollar, the popping of a Covid-19-driven tech bubble and the continued impact of the Russia-Ukraine war have all combined to hurt stock markets," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, a consultancy.

Nevertheless, China's economy expanded 3 percent in 2022, one of its slowest rates of growth in decades because of the severe zero-Covid-19 strategy that caused multiple city lockdowns and manufacturing suspensions that have resulted in multinational companies looking elsewhere to ease supply chain issues.

However, Hoogewerf seems to think Chinese entrepreneurs will look abroad for expansion. "Chinese entrepreneurs will actively look to expand abroad from this year as they have a global perspective," he says. "The reopening gives them opportunities to copy their growth model [in China] to other countries."

Really?

Hoogewerf says China businesses will go abroad

China limits how much money people and presumably companies can take out of the country, and the central government has a more isolationist focus than wanting to go overseas. Those expansion days of snapping up foreign brands are over.

To think they can replicate their success at home to other countries is naive thinking, as business and labour regulations are very different.

Other countries' governments may not want Chinese companies coming to their shores either, with TikTok being the most recent example of being banned from civil servants' devices.