China’s richest 2,130 people have as much money as the world’s fifth-largest economy
Evergrande Group chairman Xu Jiayin leaps to top of China’s rich list, displacing Wanda Group’s Wang Jianlin
Chinese President Xi Jinping may have launched a war on poverty in China, but the wealth effects of the nation’s growth have had profound effects among the upper echelon, as a group of 2,130 individuals now have fortunes equivalent to the economy of the UK, according to the Hurun Report’s 2017 rich list.
At least 74 individuals joined the group with fortunes of more than US$300 million in this year’s list, adding to the 2,056 who made last year’s list, bringing their combined assets to US$2.6 trillion, roughly the same size as the GDP of the UK, the world’s fifth largest economy.
There was also substantial change at the top of the rich list.
Xu Jiayin, chairman of real estate developer Evergrande Group, has emerged as China’s richest man with assets worth US$43 billion.
Last year’s leader, Wang Jianlin, dropped to fifth after declines in the share price of his embattled Wanda Group saw his family’s net worth slump 28 per cent to US$23 billion.
“Overall, the Hurun Rich List has grown faster than any year since 2007, with the possible exception of 2015,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher.