Beijing: Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring’s founder and CEO, Zhong Shanshan, has reclaimed his title as the richest individual in China this year, amassing a fortune of $74.5 billion. Zhong previously topped the Hurun rich list in China from 2020 to 2023, before losing the number one spot to TikTok founder and CEO Zhang Yiming in 2024.
According to Anadolu Agency, Zhong, 70, increased his wealth by 56% year-on-year, regaining the top position by surpassing e-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, in 2020. Last year’s richest Chinese person, Zhang Yiming, has now been ranked second with a fortune of $66.1 billion, reflecting a 34% increase.
The US Congress issued an ultimatum to TikTok, demanding a transfer of ownership to an American firm or a shutdown in the country due to security concerns. Former US President Donald Trump declared that TikTok would be sold to a consortium of American partners, causing Zhang to lose his top position among the wealthiest in China. This consortium is led by Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch, and his son, Lachlan Murdoch. TikTok’s American partners are expected to own 80% of the company, with the parent company ByteDance retaining no more than 20%.
Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent, a Chinese tech conglomerate, ranked third among the richest in China with a fortune of $65.4 billion, marking a 48% increase on an annual basis.
Research institute Hurun, which has been publishing data on the wealthiest individuals in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan since 1999, reported that 1,434 individuals made the list this year, each with a fortune exceeding $700 million. This marks a 31% increase. The total wealth of those included in the list reached $4.2 trillion, representing a 42% surge compared to the previous year.
According to Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun’s chair and lead researcher on the recent report, the rise in Chinese stock markets and the emergence of new tech entrepreneurs have significantly contributed to the increase in new entries on this year’s list.