PDD Holdings founder Colin Huang has become China's richest technology entrepreneur after the value of his company's U.S.-listed shares soared, making him China's more prominent businessman, Tencent Holdings' Pony Ma.・He has surpassed Mr. Faten and Mr. Zhang Yiming of ByteDance.
The 44-year-old's wealth rose 71% year-on-year to 385 billion yuan (US$53.4 billion), according to the annual Hu Run World Millionaires List 2024, released on Monday. Zhong Shanshan, who founded Nongfu Spring, which makes bottled water, remains the richest person in the country, it said, adding that his net worth is 450 billion yuan.
Mr. Ma's assets fell by 10% to 250 billion yuan, while Mr. Zhang's assets fell by 8% to 245 billion yuan, Hurun said. His rankings are based on figures as of mid-January of this year. Both dropped one place to 3rd and 4th place respectively.
Hwang is PDD's single largest shareholder with a 26.5% stake, worth $43.3 billion based on the March 22 share price, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. In the face of regulatory crackdowns from the Chinese government, he stepped down as chairman in 2021 to focus on the company's agritech future. Big Tech has wiped out trillions of dollars from domestic and international technology and education stocks.
Hurun said Huang's growing wealth has seen him jump from 39th place a year ago to 24th on the list of the world's richest people.
Bottled water tycoon rises to the top of China's richest list, ousting Evergrande and Alibaba executives
Bottled water tycoon rises to the top of China's richest list, ousting Evergrande and Alibaba executives
“[Huang] For the second year in a row, he has become China's most enriching entrepreneur,” Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at the Hurun Report, said in a statement. “It's hard to believe that less than 10 years after he founded his Pinduoduo, he is among the top 30 global entrepreneurs.”
The Big Tech landscape in China continues to change drastically. The rise in PDD stock late last year made it the most valuable Chinese company traded in the United States. The company's revenue increased 94% in the third quarter of last year, and Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma praised the company's “determination, execution and hard work.”
Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post, regained that title after its stock price stabilized this year.
Several other technology executives are among China's fastest-growing billionaires as artificial intelligence becomes a hot asset driving new global technology trends. There is. These include Cai Haoyu, founder of Shanghai-based game studio miHoYo, and Chen Tianshi, founder of Beijing-based AI chip developer Cambricon Technologies.
Tsai's wealth rose 210% to 67 billion yuan, while Chen's wealth rose 120% to 16 billion yuan.
China remains the country with the most billionaires in the world, but the number has fallen by 155 to 814 in the past 12 months, according to the Hurun report. In the U.S., the number of similar companies increased by 109 to 800, the report showed.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has regained the title of richest man with a fortune of 1.67 trillion yuan, thanks to Tesla's record shipments and SpaceX's huge valuation, Hulan said. .
Additional report by Li Jiaxing
