This year, the richest 400 people in China have piled up more cash than anyone can imagine. The current China-US trade war and the declining economic growth of the world have hardly put any dent on their growing wealth.
That is because, according to the latest Forbes Asia report, their combined wealth has risen by approximately 22 billion to US$ 1.29 trillion last year.
This year, more than half of the tycoons on the index saw their wealth grow, with those working with consumer-focused businesses racking up huge profits.
The total wealth of the wealthiest top 10 grew to US$ 246 billion this year from US$ 214.7 billion in 2018, a year that saw significant net worth decreases.
E-commerce is pushing the wealth of the wealthiest in China. The limit was US$ 1 billion to make the top 400, up from last year's US$ 840 million.
Once again, on top of the heap was Jack Ma, the former chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, whose net worth rose from US$ 34.6 billion last year to US$ 38.2 billion. The New York-listed e-commerce giant benefited from China's continuing e-commerce and internet boom.
Pony Ma Huateng, chairman of Tencent Holdings, Alibaba's biggest web competitor, is worth US$ 36 billion at No. 2.
Colin Huang, Pinduoduo's chief executive, saw his net worth grow this year from US$ 11.25 billion last year to US$ 21.2 billion, when his share price increased from US$ 18 per share to over US$ 43 in the last year.
Tycoons whose businesses provide e-commerce services, such as Lai Meisong, chief executive of Alibaba-backed express delivery company ZTO, have also done well. The net worth of Lai rose to US$ 4.6 billion in excess of US$ 1.2 billion.
Anta Sports, a Jinjiang-based shoe company, the shoe hub of China, has produced four billionaires.
Founders and brothers Ding Shizhong and Ding Shijia are rated 53 and 56, respectively, as the Hong Kong stock exchange-listed company has more than tripled since last year, producing US$ 5.6 billion and US$ 5.5 billion in fortunes.
Two executives from Anta, chief financial officer Lai Shixian, and Wang Wenmo, have likewise joined the wealthiest group.
David Wang, Credit Suisse's head of China's economy, acknowledged that a rising number of billionaires were from the consumer services industry.
Meanwhile, China's stagnant car market, the largest in the world, affected Volvo's chairman and shareholder Li Shufu's personal wealth. His net worth has recently plummeted from US$ 14.2bn to US$ 12.9bn, bringing him out of the Top 10.
