There are 393 billionaires in China on the Forbes list of the richest Chinese in 2019 with five of these persons making their billions from information technology and the internet. All are worth a combined $1.29 trillion.
This list is again led by Alibaba Group Holdings founder Jack Ma with a net worth of $38.2 billion and is rounded out by eight billionaires that share the number 393 spot. Each of these individuals is worth some $1 billion.
Apart from Ma, the tech billionaires in the top 10 are "Pony" Ma Huateng (No. 2), $36 billion; William Lei Ding (No. 8), $17.2 billion and Zhang Yiming (No. 10), $16.2 billion.
Two of the billionaires made their fortunes in real estate and they're among the top five. They're Hui Ka Yan, $27.7 billion and Yang Huiyan, the only woman in the top 10. She's worth $23.9 billion.
At 38 years old, Yang is also the second youngest person in the top 10. The only one younger than her is Zhang, who is 35. The oldest person on the list is He Xiangjian, 77, who derived his wealth of $23.2 billion from home appliances. He's number six on the list
Rounding out the top 10 are Sun Piaoyang (No. 4) with a wealth of $25.8 billion. He's into pharmaceuticals. Pig breeding billionaire Qin Yinglin saw his personal fortune skyrocket to$16.6 billion on account of China's sky-high pork prices triggered by the ongoing African swine flu (ASF) crisis. Qin is number nine.
Forbes said its newest list confirms massive wealth in China is being concentrated more and more in the hands of tech entrepreneurs at the expense of real estate moguls. It said those in the 2019 Forbes China Rich List saw their massive wealth jump by more than a fifth from 2018, or to $1.29 trillion from US$1.06 trillion.
Despite an economic slowdown, Chinese consumers have kept up their spending pace, more and more of which is taking place online. This move to online has kept China's tech billionaire flourishing -- and richer.
More than half of the 393 saw a boost to their wealth in 2018. On the other hand, a quarter saw their wealth drop. Forbes said the minimum net worth needed to make the list the 2019 list was $1 billion, back. There are 60 newcomers to the list; returnees comprised most of the rest.
The top 10 richest in China in the Forbes list are:
1. Jack Ma; US$38.2 billion
2. Ma Huateng; $36 billion
3. Hui Ka Yan; $27.7 billion
4. Sun Piaoyang; $25.8 billion
5. Yang Huiyan; $23.9 billion
6. He Xiangjian; $23.2 billion
7. Colin Huang; $21.2 billion
8. William Ding; $17.2 billion
9. Qin Yinglin; $16.6 billion
10. Zhang Yiming; $16.2 billion
The complete list can be found at www.forbes.com/china and www.forbeschina.com.
