Alibaba’s Jack Ma overtakes Wanda’s Wang Jianlin as Asia’s richest man
Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing now in third place
Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma Yun overtook Dalian Wanda’s Wang Jianlin as Asia’s richest man after the e-commerce giant’s financial affiliate raised a record amount in its latest round of fundraising.
Ma added US$4.3 billion to his fortune on Tuesday after his Ant Financial’s latest deal, expanding his wealth to US$33.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That puts him ahead of Wang’s US$32.7 billion and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s US$29.5 billion.
Ma’s lead among Asia’s billionaires could be short lived as Wang reorganises his entertainment business and seeks to relocate his property unit’s listing in search of higher valuations in mainland China – deals that could affect the property-to-entertainment mogul’s fortune.
Alibaba’s billionaire chairman owns 6.3 per cent of Alibaba and 37.9 per cent of Ant Financial, whose full name is Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services, after the fundraising. Ma is also said to be planning to take Ant Financial public in what could be China’s largest initial public offering since 2010.