New energy tops China 2021 rich list – Rupert Hoogewerf

 

Rupert Hoogewerf

Most rich in China are self-made, first in agriculture, then real estate, and the past five years in new energy, says Hurun chairman Rupert Hoogewerf at the release of the 2021 Hurun China rich list. Compared to Hong Kong and Taiwan, mainland rich seldom inherited their wealth, he added.

Rupert Hoogewerf:

“A boom in new energy entrepreneurs, sparked by carbon reduction targets, as well as a spate of new listings of tech-related companies drove this year’s Hurun China Rich List to records heights, adding more than 20%, both in terms of number of individuals and also total wealth. Another factor was adding in entrepreneurs from HK, Macao and Taiwan for the first time, however, with only 200, this was not a significant factor.”

“100 times in 20 years. Twenty years ago, we could only find 19 individuals with US$300mn, but over the last 20 years, this has grown over 100x to almost 3,000, showing the growth of the Chinese economy. Based on this trajectory, expect the Hurun China Rich List to grow to as many as 5,000 within ten years. At the billionaire level, it is a similar story: Back in 1999, there were none, with the first wave of 100 coming through in 2007, before breaking through the 500-mark in 2015 and since Covid, almost doubling to 1185 known billionaires today, 50% more than the US, which has just under 700 known billionaires. At this rate, expect China to have 2,000 known billionaires by 2030.”

“Half of this year’s list are new faces compared with five years ago, showing the dynamism of China’s private sector. New sectors and business models are changing the landscape of the list. 20 years ago the top 10 was led by agriculture, then 10 years ago it was real estate. Five years ago it was the second wave of internet platforms, whilst today it is new energy.”

“Zhang Yiming of ByteDance at 38 becomes only the fifth person since our first rich list in 1999 to make the Top 3 whilst still in his thirties, the others being Ding Lei of Netease, Chen Tianqiao of Shanda, Huang Guangyu of Gome and Yang Bing of Euro Asia. Keep watching. Zhang Yiming is a likely candidate to become the next Number One in China, especially if he gets to list ByteDance.”

“From the Hurun China Rich List, we can see which industries and business models are on the up and which are on the way down. New energy has had an amazing year, whilst real estate, home tutoring services, pork production and video gaming have had a bad year. Embattled Xu Jiayin of Evergrande was down US$25bn to leave him with just over US$10bn. In home tutoring, Tom Zhang Bangxin of TAL Education lost US$14bn to leave him with less than a billion, whilst Chen Xiangdong of Genshuixue lost US$12.5bn, dropping him off the list. Pork producers Liu Yonghao and Qin Yinglin were down US$8bn and US$5bn. Video gaming leader Pony Ma of Tencent was down US$10bn.”

“The average ‘Hurun Rich Lister’ was born in 1965, started his business in 1994 at the age of 29, broke into the list in 2012 at the age of 47, and is now 56 years old with US$1.9bn.”

“Succession is a hot topic in China. US$1.5tn of wealth is likely to pass down from the first generation entrepreneurs on the list to the nextgen over the next 20 years. The Lee Kum Kee family is the only 100-yr old family dynasty on the list.”

Only 4% or 122 individuals inherited their wealth. 60% are from Taiwan and Hong Kong, with 41 from Taiwan and 28 from Hong Kong, followed by 9 from Guangdong, 8 from Zhejiang and 7 from Shanghai. “96% of the Hurun China Rich List is first generation self-made wealth,” Hoogewerf said.

More at the Hurun website.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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Meet China’s newest richest person, Zhong Shanshan – Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Zhong Shanshan, founder of the bottled water company Nongfu Spring, pushed Alibaba’s Jack Ma from his position as the richest in China. Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun China Rich List, explains how Zhong made it to the top, at CNN Business. Hoogewerf expects a new boom in billionaires from China, he says.

CNN Business:

Zhong’s new status also puts him ahead of Pony Ma, who founded Tencent. Unlike Jack Ma and Pony Ma, Zhong is not a tech entrepreneur. Outside of his stake in Nongfu Spring, he is the head of a vaccine maker, Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy. That company went public in Shanghai this year, which also helped boost Zhong’s wealth.

“You would have typically expected the number one in China to come from [technology],” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of wealth research firm Hurun Report.

Zhong is also known for being more low-profile and reclusive compared to other top business leaders, which has earned him the nickname “lone wolf.”

“He’s not known to have many entrepreneur friends,” said Hoogewerf, a longtime China watcher who is based in Shanghai. “He just kind of gets on with his own business.”

But even prior to his latest success, Zhong’s track record was impressive.

“Zhong Shanshan is one of the few people in China to not just build one $10 billion business, but two $10 billion businesses,” said Hoogewerf. “It’s pretty remarkable.”

Zhong’s ascent underscores the rapid pace of wealth creation in China.

Earlier this year, China was already home to most of the world’s billionaires, with more than the United States and India combined, according to a global rich list compiled by the Hurun Report….

A report released by Deloitte on Wednesday said that “several other developments are set to sustain the prevailing trend of listings in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong over the rest of this year,” including the approval of cross-listing rules and a new tech index in Hong Kong.

That will likely spawn even more billionaires in China, Hoogewerf predicts.

He estimates that about 100 new billionaires will be created in China this year because of the IPO boom. That’s “one every four days. Two a week,” he said.

More at CNN Business.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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Less wealthy Chinese families - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

For the first time in five years' time, the number of rich Chinese families has dropped, says this year's Hurun Wealth Report, according to the China Daily. Both a dropping economy and the trade war triggered off the effect, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of the Hurun Report, now in its 11th year.

The China Daily:

Economic slowdown and the trade tensions between China and the United States have resulted in a minor slide in the number of affluent families in China, said the Hurun Wealth Report 2019 released on Tuesday. 

As of Dec 31 last year, the number of high–net-worth Chinese families with household assets of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) dropped 1.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.98 million, according to the report. The number of ultra-high-net-worth Chinese families with household assets of 100 million yuan also contracted by 4.5 percent to 127,000. 

Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and chief researcher of Hurun Report, said it is the first time in five years that a drop has been recorded in the number of high–net-worth Chinese families. China's economic slowdown and restructuring, the trade conflict between China and the United States, combined with the 20 percent slide in the major A-share indexes last year, have resulted in the contraction, he said. 

Beijing is still home to the largest number of high–net-worth families, with 288,000 households in the city owning assets of at least 10 million yuan. Guangdong comes second, followed by Shanghai. 

The majority of 65 percent of these 10-million-yuan asset families own their own businesses. Company executives, property market investors and professional stock market investors are the less commonly found occupations in this category. 

However, the number of wealthy Chinese families with household assets of 6 million yuan reached 4.94 million by the end of 2018, up 1.2 percent year-on-year, according to the report.

More in the China Daily.

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China has fewer wealthy people than ever - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

For the first time in 21 years the annual Hurun (China) rich list notes fewer wealthy people, says its chairman Rupert Hoogewerf to AFP. "Nearly 40 percent of those in the rich list two years ago has dropped off," he said.

 AFP:

The number of ultra-wealthy individuals dipped in China this year, a report said Thursday, as the government seeks to rebalance the economy and tackle high levels of toxic debt. 

Those listed as the wealthiest -- with holdings worth at least 2 billion yuan ($281 million) -- fell to 1,819 this year, down from 1,893 last year, according to data compiled by the Hurun Report. 

"This is the first time in 21 years that the Hurun (China) Rich List has shrunk for two consecutive years," said Hurun Report chairman Rupert Hoogewerf. 

"The only other years the list shrunk, and only very slightly, were in 2008 at the time of the global financial crisis and in 2002 after the tech bubble burst." 

Traditional sectors such as manufacturing and real estate have suffered as companies "caught up in too much debt" have started shedding assets, affecting their founders' net worth, Hoogewerf added. 

"Nearly 40 percent of those in the rich list two years ago has dropped off," he said. "It's part of a very conscious decision by the Chinese government to try and restructure the economy." 

Billionaires who made their money in IT, pharmaceuticals and education were replacing the old guard... 

With a younger generation of entrepreneurs making their way up the rankings, 39-year-old Colin Huang Zheng, of e-commerce site Pinduoduo, became the first self-made entrepreneur born in the 1980s to enter the top 10. 

"Colin Huang has created a world first, making $20 billion since founding Pinduoduo just four years ago," Hoogewerf said. 

"Nobody in the world has ever made that much from a standing start." 

Eleven people born in the 1990s also made the list.

More at AFP.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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Tech replaces manufacturing and real estate at rich list - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

China's Hurun rich list is signaling yet another economic shift, says Hurun chairman Rupert Hoogewerf at CNN. This time the rich from tech firms are replacing those from manufacturing and real estate, according to the latest annual rich list.

CNN:

China's wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of tech entrepreneurs, although some pharmaceutical moguls and pig farmers are breaking into the ranks of the super rich. 

There were fewer millionaires and billionaires on the Hurun Report's rich list for a second year in a row, but their average wealth increased as China's shift towards the digital economy saw manufacturing and construction tycoons drop off the bottom. There has been a "changing of the guard" among China's wealthiest people over the years, said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report's chairman, commenting on the list that was published Thursday. 

"Tech entrepreneurs are replacing those from the traditional powerhouses of manufacturing and real estate," Hoogewerf said. "Wealth is concentrating into the hands of those who are able to adapt to the digital economy," he added. 

Alibaba (BABA) founder Jack Ma held onto his title of China's richest man with a net worth of $39 billion, with Pony Ma of Tencent (TCEHY) rising one spot to take second place with $37 billion.

More on CNN.

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China has most real estate billionaires - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

The Hurun Global Real Estate Rich List, released last week, shows that China has the most real estate billionaires, followed by the US. The country's building boom caused by massive urbanization explains the top position, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun rich list to Barron's.

Barrons:

With 139 of the world’s 239 real estate billionaires, China accounted for a whopping 58% of the world’s total, leaving other countries far behind, according to the Hurun Global Real Estate Rich List released Thursday. The runner-up, the U.S. has 26 real estate billionaires, followed by the U.K., with 17. Hong Kong had the highest concentration of real estate billionaires in the world with 25.

“The urbanization megatrend in China has driven the biggest wealth explosion in the history of world, with the result that most of the world’s largest real estate developers today come from China,” Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Research Institute, publisher of the list, said in a statement. 

Chinese developers swept the list’s top four spots. Xu Jiayin of Shenzhen-based Evergrande Group ranked first with a net worth of US$37 billion. Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong conglomerate Cheung Kong Holdings came in second, with US$29 billion. Third place went to Lee Shau Kee of Hong Kong-based Henderson Development, with US$27 billion. Yang Huiyan of Foshan-based Country Garden landed fourth with US$23 billion. She was the only female real estate billionaire in the top 10. The richest U.S. real estate billionaire was Donald Bren, chairman and sole owner of California-based developer the Irvine Company. He had a net worth of US$17 billion. U.S. President Donald Trump came in at 82nd place with US$3 billion.

More on Barron's

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Chinese women remain on top of rich lists - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Chinese female entrepreneurs remain on top of the rich lists, says Hurun chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf at the publication of the 2018 top 50 “Hurun Women Entrepreneur List” of 2018 at the Pandaily. The gender gap with their male colleagues remains, he adds, with a difference of 30 percent between men and women.

Pandaily:

“China accounts for 60 percent of the world’s most successful female entrepreneurs, while Chinese women make up one-fifth of the world’s female population,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at Hurun Report. Hoogewerf speculates that the combination of reform and opening-up, as well as entrepreneurships of Chinese women could be the reason. 

The list evaluates the female entrepreneurs’ personal wealth, without the inclusion of family wealth or inheritance. The main sources of wealth of the women on this list are real estate and manufacturing. 

Hoogewerf observes that the origins of wealth tend to be the same for both men and women. ”The big gap is in the IT-industry,” he adds. 

First on the list is the vice-chairwoman of Country Garden Holdings, Yang Huiyan. Yang has topped the list for six consecutive years with a personal wealth of 150 billion yuan ($21.7 billion). The 37 year old’s wealth has shrunk by more than 10 billion yuan compared to last year but she still retains the title of being the richest woman in China. 

Yang is followed by the chairwoman of Longfor Properties, Wu Yajun with a personal wealth of 58.5 billion yuan. Wu held the title of China’s richest woman in 2012 , only to be surpassed by Yang the following year. Third on the list is Chen Li Hua, chairwoman of Fu Wah International Group, with a personal wealth of 50.5 billion yuan. 

The average wealth of the top 50 Chinese entrepreneurs fell by 7.8 percent from last year to 21.3 billion yuan, but this is still four times higher than a decade ago. 

Gender gap exists even among the richest people. “The average wealth of the top 50 women entrepreneurs is 30 percent of the top 50 male entrepreneurs.” Hoogewerf says.

More at the Pandaily.

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Dropping numbers, more new faces in 2018 China rich list - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Dropping stock markets have caused a bloodshed at the 2018 Hurun Rich List where 11% dropped off the list compared to 2017. But also 219 new faces entered the list, says Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher at their website. Alibaba's Jack Ma became number one again, pushing out real estate tycoons.

The Hurun 2018 China Rich List:

l  Only 1893 individuals made the cut this year, down 11% from 2130 individuals last year. This is the first drop in the size of the list since 2012. Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said: “A 20% drop in the stock exchange, on the back of a slowing economy and the US-China trade war, resulted in 456 drop-offs this year, the highest since records began twenty years ago.” 

l  Despite the drop, the number of individuals making the cut of CNY 2 billion is up 89% compared with five years ago, and four-fold that of 10 years ago at the time of the financial crisis. 20 years ago, only eight individuals had CNY 2 billion.

l  Jack Ma Yun, 54, & family shot back to Number One in China for the second time in four years. Ma’s wealth increased by US$10bn to US$39bn, on the back of a hike in the valuation of Alipay mothership Ant Financial. ‘Real Estate Tycoon’ Xu Jiayin, 60, of Evergrande and last year’s richest person, claimed second place, followed byPony Ma Huateng of Tencent. Rupert Hoogewerf said: “The Big Three are pulling away from the rest.” 

l  New faces. There were 219 new faces, led by 38-year old Colin Huang Zheng of e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Huang started Pinduoduo only 3 years ago and is today worth US$14bn. 5 new faces shot straight into the Top 100 of the Hurun Rich List. Others include ‘Battery King’ Zeng Yuqun of CATL, a battery maker for the e-car industry, and ‘Blockchain King’ Zhan Ketuan of Bitmain. Rupert Hoogewerf said, “The scalability of the market coupled with a strong investor ecosystem is creating big new businesses fast.” 

l  Others that grew fast included ‘Hot Pot Power Couple’ Zhang Yong and wife Shu Ping, whose wealth shot up ten-fold on the back of an IPO last month. Zhang Yiming, 35, of news aggregator ByteDance, is reportedly in discussion to raise money on a valuation of a staggering US$75bn. Lei Jun of smartphone maker Xiaomi grew 62% to US$16bn to break into the Top 10. Wang Xing of Meituan-Dianping shot up 39 places to 58^th. 

l  Down. Wu Gang, 41, and Huang Xiaojie, both of JD Capital saw their wealth drop 85%, Meitu’s Wu Xinhong and Cai Wensheng saw their wealth drop over 50%, Jiang Bin and wife Hu Shuangmei of acoustic component maker GoerTek saw their wealth drop by over 50%, last year’s richest self-made women ‘Touchscreen Queen’ Zhou Qunfei and husband Zheng Junlong saw their wealth drop 45%.

More at the Hurun website.

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Most of China rich did not get a degree - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

If Bill Gates is a standard, getting an education degree is no measurement for later wealth. The Hurun China Rich list discovered that half of its listed 2,000 rich did not finish with a degree, says chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf in Global Times. Partly that is caused by the chaotic times during the Cultural Revolution.

Global Times:

The annual Hurun University of Life Rich List 2017, released on Tuesday, shows that half of 2,000 Chinese entrepreneurs with assets of at least 2 billion yuan ($300 million) have no degree. 

Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the institute, said that "these people might not succeed in accordance with current social standards; however, they made it and created great enterprises, which taught me that a hero may rise from nowhere." 

The report listed the top 100 heroes, with Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha Group, one of China's biggest beverage producers, ranking first. 

According to Hurun, Zong, 72, from East China's Jiangsu Province, ranked No.41 in the Hurun Global Rich List 2016 and No.5 in the China Rich List 2016 with his wealth of $19 billion. Zong ranked No.1 in the China Rich List in 2012 with wealth of $12.6 billion. 

The report said that Zong started work after graduating from middle school and established Wahaha beverage factory in 1988. Over the past 20 years, he built up his drinks empire and is a deputy of the National People's Congress. 

Also on the list are Chinese tech entrepreneur Jia Yueting, chairman of LeEco, who was born in 1973 in North China's Shanxi Province and became an Internet worker after graduating from a vocational school, and SOHO China Chairman Pan Shiyi, a property tycoon, who was born in 1963 and graduated from a vocational school. 

Compared with those who obtained a degree, the average wealth of the top 100 entrepreneurs without a prominent education background is 24.9 billion yuan, 9.6 billion yuan less than those who went on to further education.

The report said that the average age of the latter is six years older than the former with eight entrepreneurs over 70. However, only one of the top 100 "well-educated" entrepreneurs is over 70. "The heroic entrepreneurs are older and deeply affected by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76)," Hoogewerf said.

More in Global Times.

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Rich migrate less from China - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

For years the trend seemed irreversible: China´s rich were leaving the motherland in troves. But in 2017 the trend has reversed, says Hurun China rich list composer Rupert Hoogewerf to the South China Morning Post. This year could be a turning point, Hoogewerf says about the findings in the Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2017.

The South China Morning Post.

The proportion of mainland millionaires who say they won’t emigrate has risen for a third straight year to reach a record high, even as a majority say they would like to move to another country, according to a report on Thursday. 

About 44.5 per cent of mainland millionaires with personal wealth of more than 10 million yuan, are not planning to emigrate, according to Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2017. 

“The year of 2017 could be a turning point,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report. “The proportion of respondents considering emigration is reflecting stronger confidence.” 

Still, almost half of those polled said they are considering emigrating as an option, though the figure is down from about 60 per cent in 2008.

More in the South China Morning Post.

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