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Trade war, slowing economy and market rout wipe out billions from China’s 400 richest people on Forbes list

  • The median wealth of China’s 400 richest people shrank by US$300 million in 2018, compared with last year, according to Forbes

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Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma is once again China’s richest man with a net worth of US$34.6 billion, according to Forbes. Photo: AFP
Ryan Swift

China’s 400 wealthiest people have lost a combined US$130 billion of their fortunes in the last year, as a worsening trade war with the United States exacerbated a slowing economy and the worst stock market rout in four years.

The nation’s richest people are estimated to be worth a combined US$1.06 trillion, down from the total wealth of US$1.19 trillion , according to Forbes’ 2018 China Rich List. Their median net worth shrank by US$300 million to US$1.4 billion, from US$1.7 billion, according to the list.

“The world has come to associate China with wealth creation, and it is startling to see the extent of wealth destruction this year,” said Russell Flannery, the editor-in-chief of Forbes China.

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The bloodbath on Asian equity bourses underscored the wealth destruction, as stock markets from Seoul to Wellington took the cue from New York’s overnight plunge.

Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng Index fell 1 per cent to an 18-month low, while the China Enterprises Index fell 0.5 per cent. China’s stock markets were mixed, as the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 points while the Shenzhen benchmark fell 0.3 per cent. The Nikkei 225 plummeted 3.7 per cent.
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Forbes had to lower its bar for making the China Rich List to US$840 million, as the number of dollar billionaires on the 2018 list fell to 86 per cent, from all 400 last year.

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