Jack Ma displaces property tycoon to top China rich list
US dollar billionaires on mainland grows by 39 to 354 this year, though some have fallen foul of President Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown
Jack Ma Yun, the 50-year-old co-founder and chairman of mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba, has topped this year's Hurun China Rich List, with the number of US dollar billionaires on the mainland increasing by 39 to 354.
However, some have fallen foul of President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption. Hurun said: "Eighteen of last year's list are in varying degrees of trouble with the authorities, of which 11 still made the list this year."
The mainland was home to only three US dollar billionaires 10 years ago.
Many rich mainlanders have political connections, with 166 of the Hurun Rich List this year - 13 more than last year - either National People's Congress deputies or Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference delegates. Forty per cent of the top 50 on this year's list have senior political appointments.
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Hurun said the 38 per cent rise in Alibaba's stock on the first day of trading in New York on Friday saw Ma's fortune soar five times to US$25 billion.