As the country’s AI sector progresses and the government adopts a more amicable attitude toward private enterprise, Chinese billionaires are reemerging.
In spite of the increasing trade tensions with the U.S., China’s stock markets have risen significantly since last year’s World Billionaires list. As officials pledged increased economic support, the Hang Seng Index surged by nearly 20%. Meanwhile, DeepSeek’s release of a cost-effective AI model in January sparked renewed investor interest in the nation’s tech industry. The total wealth of Chinese billionaires listed in Forbes’ 2025 ranking reached $1.68 trillion, reflecting a 26% increase from the previous year’s figure of $1.33 trillion and surpassing the total of $1.67 trillion from 2023.
As a result of that optimism, the number of billionaires in the country increased. This year, the number of mainland Chinese members in the three-comma club stands at 450, an increase from last year’s 406 but still below the 2023 figure of 495. With 902 billionaires, the U.S. is first in the world, while mainland China is second.
Passport holders from Macau and Hong Kong are not included in mainland China, as they are listed separately by Forbes. A case in point is Li Ka-shing, who has a net worth of $38.9 billion and is Hong Kong’s wealthiest individual; he has established his business empire with CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings. Including those billionaires, greater China comprises 516 members, an increase from 473 in 2024 but a decrease from 562 in 2023. The total number of billionaires worldwide is 3,028, and their combined wealth amounts to $16.1 trillion.
While 23 individuals from last year’s list are no longer included, there are 31 newcomers and 37 returnees in mainland China who have a net worth of at least $1 billion. Returnees are those who have made the list in the past, fell off, and have now rejoined it. A remarkable newcomer is Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, who has trained one of the top-performing AI models globally at a fraction of the costs incurred by competitors like OpenAI. Liang, aged 40, is estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion due to his stakes in DeepSeek and the hedge fund High-Flyer.
The combined wealth of the ten wealthiest individuals in China amounts to $400.5 billion, an increase from last year’s figure of $304 billion and surpassing the $311 billion mark recorded in 2023. This year, Zhong Shanshan, chairman of beverage giant Nongfu Spring and China’s richest person for four years running, relinquished the top position to Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance. Zhong, who is currently ranked No. 2, has seen his net worth decrease from $62.3 billion in 2024 to $57.5 billion.
Zhang, who is now China’s richest individual, increased his wealth to $65.5 billion over the past year—by more than 50%. Although there are doubts regarding TikTok’s future in the U.S., ByteDance, which is privately owned, has seen its valuation rise to over $300 billion from last year’s figure of $217 billion, as investors find promise in its AI technology. The Doubao chatbot app has garnered 82 million monthly active users (MAUs), ranking it as the world’s second most popular AI chatbot in February, following OpenAI’s ChatGPT with 401 million MAUs, as reported by aicpb.com, a Hunan-based website that tracks global AI products. DeepSeek’s chatbot secured the 4th position, boasting 62 million MAUs.
Eight of the ten wealthiest Chinese billionaires have experienced growth in their fortunes. As demand for the cars from Xiaomi founder Lei Jun’s electric vehicle venture increases, his wealth has skyrocketed by 300% to reach $43.5 billion. However, a Xiaomi car operating in driver-assistance mode was part of a fatal accident on a Chinese highway on March 29. This incident raised concerns about its potential impact on future growth, leading to a stock decline of up to 6.1% on Tuesday.
In 2024, the net worth of Jack Ma, a cofounder of Alibaba, rose from $24.5 billion to $28.6 billion. This February, Ma was part of a group of Chinese businesspeople who were invited to meet with President Xi Jinping. During this unusual meeting, the leader took the opportunity to express his firm backing for the private sector.
Leave a Reply