Jack Ma rises to top of China’s rich list

Jack Ma rises to top of China’s rich list

by Gerry Shih, 2014-09-23 12:00:26.0

BEIJING — Alibaba Group Holding executive chairman Jack Ma has become China’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $25bn, underscoring the ascension of tech tycoons over property peers in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Mr Ma knocked Wang Jianlin, head of the Wanda property group, into second place with $24.2bn, according to this year’s list of China’s super-rich published by Hurun Reports.

Tech billionaires accounted for half of the top-10 names and included Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma in fifth place with a $18.1bn fortune and Baidu CEO Robin Li in sixth position with $17.5bn.

Making the top 10 for the first time were cellphone company Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun and e-commerce entrepreneur Liu Qiangdong who led JD.com to a New York listing this year — in ninth and 10th position respectively.

Six property developers occupied the top 10 places in 2013, but only two made the cut this year, a reflection of a Chinese housing market that has stalled for several quarters.

Most of the about 1,100 people tracked by Hurun saw their wealth grow, but times are tense for the Chinese elite as President Xi Jinping’s administration continues its far-reaching corruption crackdown in both the public and private sectors.

Hurun said five members of its rich list were under investigation, two had been imprisoned, two were awaiting sentencing, one had been sentenced to death and one — the flamboyant Sichuan businessman Li Yan — had disappeared altogether.

Hurun said it counted a record 354 US dollar billionaires in mainland China, up 13% from last year compares with only 65 billionaires in 2012.

"The entrepreneurial spirit that has caught China seems not to be abating, with eight self-made individuals born in the 1980s making the list," said British accountant Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

Hurun said its rankings were accurate as of mid-August. It was not immediately clear what valuation it used for Alibaba. A record-setting initial public offering (IPO) in August catapulted Alibaba’s valuation to more than $200bn. Mr Ma owns 7.8% of Alibaba and also made gains of about $850m by selling shares in the offering.

Despite the size of Alibaba’s IPO, only one other Alibaba shareholder, Simon Xie, made Hurun’s list, coming in at number 177.

Mr Xie is an Alibaba vice-president and co-founder who holds significant shares in the company alongside Mr Ma.

Reuters

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma. Picture: BLOOMBERG

BEIJING — Alibaba Group Holding executive chairman Jack Ma has become China’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $25bn, underscoring the ascension of tech tycoons over property peers in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Mr Ma knocked Wang Jianlin, head of the Wanda property group, into second place with $24.2bn, according to this year’s list of China’s super-rich published by Hurun Reports.

Tech billionaires accounted for half of the top-10 names and included Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma in fifth place with a $18.1bn fortune and Baidu CEO Robin Li in sixth position with $17.5bn.

Making the top 10 for the first time were cellphone company Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun and e-commerce entrepreneur Liu Qiangdong who led JD.com to a New York listing this year — in ninth and 10th position respectively.

Six property developers occupied the top 10 places in 2013, but only two made the cut this year, a reflection of a Chinese housing market that has stalled for several quarters.

Most of the about 1,100 people tracked by Hurun saw their wealth grow, but times are tense for the Chinese elite as President Xi Jinping’s administration continues its far-reaching corruption crackdown in both the public and private sectors.

Hurun said five members of its rich list were under investigation, two had been imprisoned, two were awaiting sentencing, one had been sentenced to death and one — the flamboyant Sichuan businessman Li Yan — had disappeared altogether.

Hurun said it counted a record 354 US dollar billionaires in mainland China, up 13% from last year compares with only 65 billionaires in 2012.

"The entrepreneurial spirit that has caught China seems not to be abating, with eight self-made individuals born in the 1980s making the list," said British accountant Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

Hurun said its rankings were accurate as of mid-August. It was not immediately clear what valuation it used for Alibaba. A record-setting initial public offering (IPO) in August catapulted Alibaba’s valuation to more than $200bn. Mr Ma owns 7.8% of Alibaba and also made gains of about $850m by selling shares in the offering.

Despite the size of Alibaba’s IPO, only one other Alibaba shareholder, Simon Xie, made Hurun’s list, coming in at number 177.

Mr Xie is an Alibaba vice-president and co-founder who holds significant shares in the company alongside Mr Ma.

Reuters