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;
Wang Jianlin of Wanda overtakes Li Ka-shing to become richest Chinese in world, research finds 1,577 Chinese from across the world with wealth of US$320m or more.
Hurun Research Institute 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. 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.
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 best-known 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.
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.
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.”
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.
Source: Hanya Capital · Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015
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.
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.
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 Hsiueh-Hong 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. 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.
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, Mondel"z 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 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.
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.
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