Wang Jianlin of Wanda overtakes Li Ka-shing to become richest Chinese
in world
Hurun Research finds 1577 Chinese from across the world with wealth of
US$320m or more
Hurun Research releases Hanya Capital · Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015
Key Findings
 Global Chinese impact
 Hurun Research found 1577 Chinese with wealth of CNY 2 billion (US$320m).
“Assuming that we have missed at least two for every one we have found,
there should probably be close to 5000 Chinese around the world with more
than CNY 2 billion,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher
of Hurun Report.
 Total wealth of these 1577 individuals amounts to US$2.1 trillion, equivalent
to the GDP of Russia or 1.5 times that of South Korea.
 504 are dollar billionaires.
 Rise of Mainland China.
 Li Ka-shing, 87, overtaken for the first time. Wang Jianlin, 61, today the
richest Chinese in the world.
 Mainland China dominates with 79.5% of the list, followed by Hong Kong
with 6.3% and Taiwan with 4.9%. Next come Singapore, Malaysia and
Indonesia.
 City of Residence: 7 of the top 10 cities with the highest concentration of wealth
are in mainland China, led by Beijing with 181 living there, followed by Shenzhen
with 111.
 Links back to China. Almost half the non-mainland Chinese on the list have their
origins in Guangdong and Fujian. For mainland China, Zhejiang dominates.
 Industries: Real estate and manufacturing lead the way. For non-mainlanders,
food & drinks and transportation were significantly higher, three times and double
that of mainland China respectively. “Gone are the days when Chinese were bestknown for opening restaurants in Chinatowns around the world,” says Hoogewerf.
 Age: Average age is 56 years, i.e. born in 1959. “Non-Mainlanders are 68 on
average, starting up in 1978, 15 years earlier than their mainland counterparts,
who started up in 1993 on average,” says Hoogewerf.
 Self-made: Only 67% of non-mainlanders are self-made, compared with mainland
China, where significantly all are self-made. 6% of non-mainlanders on the list are
in their third generation.
 Female: 345 females make the list, 18% of the total. Kwong Siu Hing of Sun
Hung Kai is the richest woman with a fortune of US$10.5 billion. “Chinese
dominate when it comes to the world’s most successful women in business,” says
Hoogewerf.
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
Chinese may account for 20% of the world’s population, but global Chinese dollar
billionaires make up 25% of the Hurun Global Rich list (released in February 2015),
showing that – in business –Chinese have outstripped their peers.
(19 August 2015, Beijing) Hurun Research Institute today released the Hurun Global
Chinese Rich List 2015, a ranking of the richest Chinese in the world, sponsored by
China-based asset manager Hanya Capital. This is the most robust attempt yet to track
the business success of Chinese globally, and comes at a time when mainland
Chinese are aggressively expanding outside of their country. Hurun Research has
managed to keep the cut-off to CNY 2bn (US$320 million), the same as its annual
Hurun China Rich List. This is the first year of the list.
Spread out over 18 countries and regions, Hurun Research found 1577 individuals with
wealth of CNY 2bn, of which 302 were from outside mainland China. Total wealth
comes to a staggering US$2.1 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of Russia, or 1.5 times
that of South Korea.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said, “As little as
ten years ago, the most successful Chinese were all outside mainland China. Today
that has changed completely, with Wang Jianlin of Wanda representing the new era of
mainland China entrepreneurs.”
Wang Xin, Hanya Capital Chairman, said, “The Global Chinese Rich List shows how
the world’s most successful Chinese have made their money and is a meaningful
reference and inspiration to Chinese across the world. When thinking of asset
allocation and wealth planning, Hanya Capital is one of the few enterprises with the
license to provide international asset management for mainland Chinese. In order to
service our ever-global customer base, Hanya Capital has developed global real estate
and equity funds, and launched value-added services like business migration and
investment consultation.”
This press release is a translation of the Chinese-language press release. For the full
details, please refer to the Chinese language press release on www.hurun.net.
Top 10
The Top 10 all come from mainland China or Hong Kong. 6 live in mainland China and
the other 4 live in Hong Kong. Half are in real estate. Average age is 66. Pony Ma
Huateng of Tencent is the youngest, aged 44.
Top 10
Name
Company
Industry
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Age
Residence
1
2
3
4
4
6
7
8
Wang Jianlin
Wanda
Li Ka-shing
Jack Ma & family
Cheung Kong
Alibaba
Li Hejun
Hanergy
Henderson
Land
Tencent
Lee Shau Kee
Pony Ma Huateng
Zong Qinghou &
family
Wahaha
Real estate,
entertainment
Real estate,
Energy
IT
Renewable
energy
Real Estate,
Investments
IT
Drinks
Agriculture,
Real estate
61
87
51
48
87
44
70
92
Kuok Group
New World &
8
Chow
Tai Real Estate, 90
Cheng Yu-tung
Fook
Jewelry
Robin Li & Melissa
Search
10
47, 45
Ma
Baidu
Engine
Source: Hanya Capital · Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015
Robert Kuok
Mainland
Hong Kong
Mainland
Mainland
Hong Kong
Mainland
Mainland
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Mainland
Wang Jianlin, 61, overtook Li Ka-shing to be crowned the richest Chinese in the
world with a fortune of US$42.6 billion, driven mainly by the recent listings of his real
estate and cinema businesses.
Li Ka-shing, 87, came second with a fortune of US$32.8 billion. With the bulk of his
wealth made in real estate, Li has recently been investing heavily into the UK. Li is
currently organizing his succession with his two sons Victor and Richard.
Jack Ma, 51, was third with US$27 billion. One of the most active entrepreneurs in
China, Ma also made time to be the number one philanthropist in China last year.
Li Hejun, 48, sits in fourth place, based on the value of his stock at 20 May, when it
stopped trading after an investigation launched by the HK regulatory authorities.
Lee Shau Kee, 87, is also in fourth place. Lee has appointed his younger son Martin
to chairman of Henderson Land, and is expected to let his elder son Peter take over
the Herd Group and gas company.
Pony Ma Huateng, 44, is sixth. Ma has become one of the world’s most active venture
capitals, along with Jack Ma of Alibaba. WeChat continues to grow its market share.
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Robert Kuok, 92, is eighth with a fortune of US$16.4 billion. Kuok’s ancestral home is
in Fujian, he was born in Malaysia and lives in HK today. Kuok’s business ranges from
sugarcane, to mining, finance and hotels.
Cheng Yu-tung, 90, is also in eighth place. Cheng was born in Shunde of Guangdong.
He is famous for the adventurous investment style, being seen as one of the “Hong
Kong Big Four Real Estate Magnates” and “King of Jewelry”.
Robin Li Yanhong & Melissa Ma Dongmin are tenth. 50% of Baidu’s revenues now
come from mobile.
Where they live:
Mainland China ranks number 1 with 1254 individuals or 79.5% of the total. Hong Kong
was second with 99 list, followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Residence
No. of
%
indivs
Richest Person
Company
Wealth
US$m
2
Mainland
China
Hong Kong
3
Taiwan
78
4.9%
4
5
Singapore
Malaysia
38
28
2.4%
1.8%
Philip Ng
Lim Kok Thay
6
Indonesia
22
1.4%
Michael Hartono
7
America
14
0.89%
8
9
Philippine
Thailand
13
12
10
Canada
5
11
Australia
4
12
Macau
3
Patrick
SoonNant Works
Shiong
0.83% Henry Sy
SM
0.76% Tos Chirathivat
Central Group
London
Drugs,
0.32% Brandt Louie
IGA
David Teoh &
0.25%
TPG
Vicky Teoh
Macau Legend
0.19% David Chow
13
14
14
14
14
France
Vietnam
Cambodia
Peru
Burma
2
1
1
1
1
0.13%
0.06%
0.06%
0.06%
0.06%
1
1254
79.5% Wang Jianlin
Wanda
42600
99
6.3%
Li Ka-shing
Tsai Eng-Meng
Cheung Kong
32800
Want Want
10000
Far East
4400
Genting Group
4100
Bank Central Asia,
Djarum
6600
Carrie Perrodo
Tran Kim Thanh
Kith Meng
Erasmo Wong
Serge Pun
4 / 12
Perenco
Kinh Do Corp
Royal Group
Wong
SPA Group
13900
13900
12000
1800
900
820
8900
490
820
490
330
14
UAE
1
0.06%
Thaksin
Shinawatra
SC Asset
1600
Total
1577
Source: Hanya Capital · Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015
Regional Analysis
Mainland China: 1254 live in mainland China with a total wealth of US$1.4 trillion, 67%
of the total list. Beijing has the highest concentration of billionaires, with 181. In the
past 16 years, Mainland China has had 12 different Number Ones, demonstrating the
vitality of the private sector there. IT increased quickest and today represents 5 of the
Top 10. However, manufacturing and real estate still lead the way. Average age 53. A
handful of billionaires who live in mainland China are from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
or other countries. For instance, Indonesian Lin Wenjing, 87, moved back to Fuqing in
Fujian Province and established Rongqiao, a real estate developer.
Hong Kong: 99 live in Hong Kong, with total wealth of US$290 billion. Average net
worth is US$3 billion, 2.6 times that of mainland China. Real estate is the most popular
industry, almost 40% of billionaires in Hong Kong are from this industry. Over 40% of
ancestral homes are in Guangdong province. Average age is 66.
Taiwan: 89 were born and grew up in Taiwan. 78 of them live there as well, including
Taiwan’s richest Tsai Eng-Meng, 58. Nine live in mainland China, led by Wei Ing-Chou
& family of Ting Hsin. Two live in America: Jerry Yang of Yahoo! and Cher HsiuehHong Wang & Chen Wen-Chi of HTC. Total wealth is US$130 billion, and average
wealth US$1.7 billion, which is US$370 million higher than that of the average Chinese
on our list. Average age is 68. Taipei has the highest concentration of super wealthy,
over half of the Taiwan billionaires live here. 20% made their money in manufacturing,
followed by real estate and finance with 13% and 9%.
Singapore: 38 live in Singapore. Average wealth is US$1.4 billion. Average age is 64.
Singapore punches above its weight: even though the Chinese population is relatively
small compared with other countries in SE Asia, Singapore has more people on the
list than any other country outside Greater China. 32 are doing real estate, followed by
11% transportation. Brothers Philip and Robert Ng have a fortune of US$4.4 billion
each, joint number ones in Singapore. Far East was founded by their father Teng Fong
Ng whose ancestral home is in Fujian province. IT entrepreneur Chen Tianqiao is a
high profile mainlander now based in Singapore. Since Shanda delisted from Nasdaq,
Chen has moved into investments. Another mainlander in Singapore is Zhong
Shengjian of Yanlord, whose ancestral home is Guangdong province. Zhong built his
business in Singapore and came back to mainland China doing real estate business
in 90s. Yanlord is the highest market value private sector in Singapore.
Malaysia: 28 live in Malaysia. Average wealth is US$1.2 billion. Average age is 67.
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32% are in real estate, followed by 20% in palm oil. Interestingly, most Malaysian
Chinese are multi-industry, including planting, hotels, manufacturing, real estate and
tourism. Lim Kok Thay of Genting Group is the richest Chinese who lives in Malaysia.
He is son of ‘Casino King’ Lim Goh Tong, who was born in Fujian province. The richest
Malaysian, Robert Kuok, is based in HK.
Indonesia: In population, there are 2.8 million Chinese diaspora in Indonesia,
according to Wikipedia. However, only 22 make the list. Average age is 70. Average
wealth is US$2 billion, higher than other SE Asia country. 23% are in real estate,
followed by 18% in tobacco. The richest Chinese in Indonesia is 76-year-old Michael
Hartono, with a fortune of US$6.5 billion. His brother R Budi Hartono ranks second,
with a fortune of US$6.1 billion. Their father Huang Weiyuan was the founder of Djarum.
Interestingly, as a sign of the connection with mainland China, Huang Bonian, the fifth
son of Eka Tjipta Widjaja, 92, founder of Sinar Mas and with a US$3 billion fortune, is
the founder of the Shanghai Bund Center and lives in mainland China.
America: 14 live in America. Average wealth is US$2.5 billion. Average age is 62. 50%
are in IT. In population, there are 3.8 million Chinese in America, higher than Singapore.
However, number of listed billionaires is less than Singapore. “Pharma King” Patrick
Soon-Shiong, born in South Africa, is the richest Chinese in America. Hoogewerf said:”
Priscilla Chan, the American Chinese wife of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, is
probably the richest Chinese woman in the world. Although she has few shares in
Facebook in her own name, all donations are done in their joint name.”
Philippines: 13 live in the Philippines. Average age is 79. 46% made their money in
food and drinks. The richest Chinese is 91-year-old Henry Sy. His ancestral home is
Jinjiang of Fujian province. He started up with shoes retailing and dabbled into multi
brand retail industry in 70s. Nowadays, his SM Group has 7 listed companies, which
covers retail, finance, real estate, tourism and many other industries. SM Group
recently declared it was going to invest into China US$450 million every year for
shopping center expansion and land purchase. Carlos Chan, 74, third generation
Philippine Chinese, whose ancestral home is in Jinjiang of Fujian province but was
born and grew up in the Philippines, owns the Oishi snack brand, popular in mainland
China.
Thailand: Thailand has the largest Chinese diaspora in the world, according to
Wikipedia, but only 12 made our list. Most made their money in food & drinks and
financial services, 33% and 25% respectively. Third-generation Tos Chirathivat &
family is the richest, with a fortune of US$12 billion, mainly from department stores.
Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra makes the list with a fortune of US$1.6 billion. Thaksin
is a fourth generation Thai-Chinese, who founded Shinawatra Company in 1982, and
at one time almost monopolized the telecoms industry of Thailand. Now he is living in
exile in Dubai.
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Canada: 5 live in Canada. Brandt Louie, 72, is the richest with a net worth of US$1.8
billion, primarily from London Drugs and IGA. He inherited the business from his father.
Michael Lee Chin, born in Jamaica, ranks second with a fortune of US$1.6 billion. After
graduation, he developed a consulting company which grew into the largest private
mutual funds company ACI. Another billionaire is Yang Hualing, owner of Jiatai with
net worth of US$570 million. A majority of his businesses are based in mainland China.
Australia: 4 live in Australia. Husband and wife David & Vicky Teoh, with a fortune of
US$900 million, rank first. They immigrated to Australia and have spent 20 years
building TPG into one of Australia’s most important telecoms and IT firms.
Macau: 3 live in Macau. David Chow & family, with a fortune of US$820 million, rank
first. Macau Legend, led by David Chow, is one of the leading gaming corporation in
Macau. Its stock value is up to US$3 billion.
France: 2 live in France. 64-yeear-old Carrie Perrodo ranks first. She was born in Hong
Kong and immigrated to France with her husband. She took over after husband Hubert,
who founded petrol company Perenco, passed away when climbing in the Alps.
Vietnam, Cambodia, Peru, Burma: Each country has one billionaire of Chinese origin
living there.
Tran Kim Thanh & family ranks first in Vietnam, with a net worth of US$490 million.
After inheriting their father’s food shop, Tran and his brother founded Kinh Do Corp
which has grown to become the biggest food company in Vietnam. Last year,
Mondelēz International announced it was planning to purchase 80% stock of Kinh Do
Corp for US$370 million.
45-year-old Kith Meng of Royal Group ranks first in Cambodia, with a net worth of
US$820 million. His ancestral home is Chaoshan of Guangdong province. In the 90s,
Kith Meng came back from Australia, and grew the family business into a corporation
spanning hotels, real estate, telecom and financial services.
Erasmo Wong ranks first in Peru, with net worth of US$490 million. His ancestral
home is Zhongshan of Guangdong province. He has over 50 big supermarkets in Peru,
with a commanding market share. Wong has expanded into agriculture, fishery and
transportation.
Serge Pun ranks first in Burma, with net worth of US$330 million. He was born in
Yangon, Burma and started up his business in Hong Kong by investing in real estate.
After returning to Burma, he founded SPA Group which today has interests ranging
from financial services, real estate to manufacturing. His subsidiary Yoma Strategic
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Holding is listed in Singapore, which is also the only company from Burma listed
overseas.
Self-Made Scorecard
In Mainland China significantly all are self-made. However, in Hong Kong, Macau,
Taiwan and overseas countries, this ratio is only 67%. Over 6% billionaires is the third
generation for wealth inheritance.
Hurun Research Institute’s self-made scorecard ranks the level of self-made from 5 to
1. Level 5 is Self-made without parental financial support. Level 4 is Self-made, but
with a helping hand from parents such as through private education. Level 3 is
Inherited a small business and grew it big time. Level 2 is inherited, but active in the
business. Level 1 is Inherited and not actively involved in the business.
Self-made without parental financial support is the most common way for Chinese
billionaire. 52% of the list is level 5. Level 2 ranks second, 19% of the list inherited their
family business but still active in management. Portion of level 1 is the least, with only
1 %. 15% billionaires are level 4 and 13% billionaires are level 3.
Table: Self-made scorecard
Self-made
Ratio Example
5
52% Li Ka-shing
4
15% Robert Kuok
3
13% Tos Chirathivat & family
2
19% Raymond Kwok & family
1
1%
Carrie Perrodo & family
Source: Hurun Research
Female
345 female billionaires are listed in Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015, making up
18% of the list. 27 are non-Mainlanders, making up only 9% of the list. Kwong Siu Hing
of Sun Hung Kai is the richest women with a net worth of US$10.5 billion.
City of Residence
7 of top 10 cities are in mainland China. 181 billionaires live in Beijing, followed by
Shenzhen with 111.
1
2
3
4
City of Residence
Beijing
Shenzhen
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Number
181
111
99
95
8 / 12
5
Hangzhou
6
Guangzhou
7
Taipei
8
Singapore
9
Suzhou
10
Chengdu
Source: Hurun Research
63
46
45
38
33
26
Non-mainland Chinese
302 are non-mainlanders, making up 19% of the list.
Total wealth of these 302 billionaires is US$661 billion. 123 of them has net wealth
over RMB10 billion (US$1.6 billion), making up 41% of this group. Hoogewerf said: “In
countries where the Chinese diaspora is in the minority, i.e. all countries other than
Greater China and Singapore, successful business people of Chinese origins tend to
be super low key.”
For the non-mainland Chinese, Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong is Number One with a net
worth of US$32.8 billion. Another Hong Kong billionaire Lee Shau Kee ranks second
with net worth of US$26.2 billion, followed by Robert Kuok who was born in Malaysia
and Cheng Yu-tung of Hong Kong, with net worths of US$16 billion.
Cut-off of the top 10 non-mainlanders was US$1 billion. 3 billionaires are from Thailand.
Taiwan, Philippine and America have one billionaire in top 10 each,
Industry
Real estate is the main wealth resource for listed billionaires from non-mainland China,
with 24% of the list. Manufacturing industry is followed, with 16%. IT and food & drinks
makes 9% of the list each, ranks third. Finance and investment ranks fourth, with 8%.
Beside those industries, Chinese billionaires are also involved in retail, textile,
transportation, telecom and media. Some billionaires takes advantage of local features.
For example, Indonesia and Philippine abound in palm oil. Billionaires there, like Lim
Hariyanto Wijaya Sarwono, Lau Cho Kun & family, Ciliandra Fangiono & family,
Loh Kian Chong and Lim Kuang Sia, are from this industry.
As similar as billionaires from mainland China, most of billionaires from these regions
are from real estate and manufacturing industry. What is different is that ratio of
billionaires doing foods & drinks business from these regions are almost three times
the billionaires from mainland China, with 9%. Ratio of transportation industry almost
doubles mainland China, reach 3%.
Industry
Non mainland Chinese %
9 / 12
Mainland Chinese %
1
2
Real Estate
Manufacturing
23%
18%
20%
23%
3
IT
9%
8%
9%
8%
6%
4%
3%
3%
3%
10%
4%
4%
7%
2%
3
Foods & Drinks
5
Finance & Investments
6
Retail
7
Textile
8
Energy
8
Transportation
Source: Hurun Research
Average age
Average age of listed billionaires from non-mainland China was 68, 15 years older than
average age of mainland China.
Links back to Guangdong and Fujian
Almost half the non-mainland Chinese have their origins in Guangdong and Fujian,
with 23% and 21% respectively. However, most of Guangdong merchants’ ancestral
home are from Chaoshan (Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang), accounted for 7.7%. For
mainland China, Zhejiang billionaires dominate.
Table: ancestral homes
Ancestral Home
1
Guangdong
2
Fujian
3
Zhejiang
4
Shandong
5
Shanghai, Hainan
6
Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi
7
Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi
Source: Hurun Research
Ratio
23%
21%
3%
1%
1%
1%
0.3%
Where they born
Of the 302 non-mainlanders, 101 were born in mainland China, 55 in Taiwan and 27
in Hong Kong. Over half were born in Greater China.
Table: Place of Birth
Place of Birth
1 Mainland China
2 Taiwan
3 Hong Kong
4 Indonesia
Number
101
55
27
9
10 / 12
Ratio
33.7%
17.7%
9.0%
3.0%
5 Malaysia
6 Thailand
7 Macau, Philippine, Singapore
Australia, Austria, UK, Cambodia,
8 Canada, Jamaica, Laos, Burma, South
Africa, Vietnam
Source: Hurun Research
6
3
2
2.0%
1.0%
0.7%
1
0.3%
About Hurun Report Inc.
China’s Leading Business and Luxury Lifestyle Media Platform since 1999
Nobody Knows China’s Rich Better!
Established as a research unit in 1999, Hurun Report Inc. has grown into a leading
business and lifestyle media platform targeted at China’s high worth individuals, on the
back of its flagship Hurun China Rich List and, since 2012, its Hurun Global Rich List.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Hurun Report has offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu,
Sanya, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Chicago and Cochin, India.
The Hurun Rich List has grown to rank the richest individuals of China and India. In 2015,
the Hurun Global Rich List ranked 2089 dollar billionaires, benchmarking China’s and
India’s top entrepreneurs in the context of their global peers.
Digital Media. Hurun Report Inc has an award-winning digital media platform, reaching
470,000 unique Chinese high net worths monthly. Hurun Report’s digital media is
composed of an active social media program on WeChat and Weibo, mobile and tablet
Apps and the hurun.net website.
Traditional Media. 4 print magazines, reaching 485,000 on average a month: Hurun Report
targeted at Chinese luxury consumers aspiring to wealth of US$5m (‘Nobody Knows
China’s Rich Better’); the Hurun Schools Guide series targeted at Chinese parents looking
to send their children overseas (‘Unlocking the Doors to the World’s Best Schools’); Wings
& Water targeted at Chinese super luxury consumers with or aspiring to US$50m (‘Beyond
First Class’) and Horse & Polo China (‘For Horse Lovers’).
Conferences and training: Hurun Report Inc hosts over 100 events across China every
year, led by its 4 flagships in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Sanya every year. Hurun
Report Inc hosts a further ten in the US, London, Singapore, Australia and India) every
year.
Market Research. Hurun Report’s close personal relationships with many of China’s
leading entrepreneurs provides the basis for its fast-growing market research division.
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Hurun Market Research has developed expertise in the sectors of private banking,
insurance, luxury drinks, luxury cars and consumer electronics.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Porsha Pan
Tel: 021-50105808*601
Mobile: 139 1838 7446
Email: porsha.pan@hurun.net
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