From the founder of the social network TikTok to the founder of the online retail platform Alibaba, China has many billionaires. And they're on a roll as their wealth increases. Who is the richest Chinese in the world?
Zhong Shanshan surpasses Jack Ma to become the world's richest Chinese
China's richest person is a bottled water tycoon, replacing Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who has topped the list for six years. Although not as popular as Alibaba's illustrious founder or collector Adrian Cheng, Zhong Shanshan has built up an impressive fortune.
He founded his mineral water company called Nongfu in 1996 in Zhejiang province on China's east coast. Mr Zhong is currently the second richest man in Asia, behind Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries. But with an estimated fortune of $58.7 billion, he is the richest man in China, according to a Bloomberg Billionaire Index estimate.
The recent IPO of his bottled water company and his entry into a vaccine company as a majority shareholder have helped him move up the rankings. In April, Wan Tai Pharmaceutical Group was listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, and in August he bought the company, increasing his wealth by $20 billion.
Finally, Mr Zheng is ranked 17th in the world's 500 richest people.
Technology sector well represented among China's wealthiest
Many of China's new billionaires are from the technology sector. However, rising tensions between China and the US over Huawei, TikTok and WeChat have eroded the valuation of Chinese tech stocks. Among the industries that cater to wealthy Chinese businessmen, the food and grocery sector is now competing with the technology sector.
Industrialists, entrepreneurs, collectors, Chinese billionaires are active in a multitude of domains. However, it must be acknowledged that each of the fields in which they operate contributes enormously to the expansion of the empire and of the made in China.