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Record 400 billionaires and billionaire families make the cut
SINGAPORE AND SHANGHAI (October 27, 2016) – Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, retains the No. 1 spot on the 2016 Forbes China Rich List as his net worth rose to US$33 billion from $30 billion last year. Wang is one of a record 400 billionaires and billionaire families to make the Forbes list of China’s richest people this year, compared to 335 last year. The full list and methodology can be found here. The top 100 are highlighted in the November issue of Forbes Asia, available on newsstands now.
Wang’s wealth continues to rise as he builds out his Dalian Wanda entertainment and real estate empire. Following the acquisition of Los Angeles-based production firm Legendary Entertainment in January and U.S. movie-house chain AMC Theaters in 2012, Wang recently announced that he would offer a 40% production rebate for movies and TV shows that shoot at his new megastudio in Qingdao. His Dalian Wanda Commercial Property, the country’s largest commercial real estate developer, delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September and may relist on a mainland exchange.
“Wang Jianlin personifies the China of our time, possessing global vision and large ambition,” said Russell Flannery, Senior Editor and compiler of the Forbes China Rich List. “The increase in the number of billionaires and billionaire families shows that great business opportunities exist in China as the country’s structural changes continue.”
Businesses tied to the Internet continue to flourish. The wealth of Jack Ma (No. 2, $28.2 billion) of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group climbed nearly 30% from $21.8 billion last year, buoyed by the recovery of Alibaba’s stock price. A record $463 billion of business transactions were conducted on Alibaba’s retail platforms in the fiscal year through March. The company set a goal of creating 10 million profitable businesses and 100 million jobs in the next 20 years. Also making the list this year from Alibaba Group are Jonathan Lu (No. 304, $1.14 billion) and Lucy Peng (No. 322, $1.1 billion), who broke into the billionaire ranks for the first time.
Tencent’s Chairman, Ma Huateng (No. 3, $24.5 billion), also known as Pony Ma, saw his wealth soar from $17.6 billion last year. This increase is in line with a roughly 45% rise in Tencent’s Hong Kong-traded shares in the past year, driven by innovative services like mobile-texting app WeChat. The Internet-focused company has become China’s most valuable public company with a market capitalization of $255 billion.
The biggest dollar gainer on this year’s list is Wang Wei (No. 4, $18.5 billion), who chairs delivery service S.F. Express. His net wealth leaped from $4 billion last year after the parent company of S.F. Express, S.F. Holdings Group, in which he has a 68% stake, received government approval of the company’s listing. As part of a plan proposed in July, Maanshan
Dingtai Rare Earth & New Materials will issue new shares and acquire S.F. Holdings Group. S.F. Express delivers all over China and at least 45 other countries and had revenues of nearly $7.2 billion in 2015.