China’s billionaire population drops: super-rich suffer as stock losses, yuan depreciation knock 229 off Hurun Global Rich List

Chinese moguls accounted for more than half of the 445 people worldwide who lost their billionaire status in the last year, according to Hurun Report

The net worth of the Chinese billionaires on the consultancy’s annual list plummeted 15 per cent, compared with 10 per cent globally

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A woman poses for photos in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on January 30, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:32am, 23 Mar 2023Updated: 1:48pm, 23 Mar 2023

China lost 229 billionaires in the last year as a faltering economy, sliding stocks and a depreciating yuan hit the country’s super-rich harder than their peers in any other nation, according to a new list published by Hurun Report.

Chinese moguls accounted for more than half of the 445 people worldwide who lost their status as US-dollar billionaires and dropped off of the Hurun Global Rich List. The number represents the biggest decline in Chinese billionaires since the list was first published in 2013.

China also added the largest number of new billionaires to the list, which is based on net worth as of January 16, with 69.

Zhong Shanshan, 69, founder of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, retained his position as China’s richest person with a fortune of US$69 billion, down 4 per cent on year. He is the world’s 15th richest person.

The total wealth of the listed Chinese billionaires, which includes 77 people from Hong Kong and 46 from Taiwan, plummeted 15 per cent, compared to a loss of 10 per cent in net worth globally. A total of 26 Chinese tycoons rank among the world’s 100 richest people.