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
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 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.
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.
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.
The world has come to associate China with wealth creation, and it is startling to see the extent of wealth destruction this year
Tycoons in manufacturing were the hardest hit, in a sign that the trade war - ostensibly to close the US trade gap with China - is beginning to bite at the top.
Real estate fortunes were also wiped out, with China Evergrande Group’s founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan losing 28 per cent, or US$11.7 billion, of his estimated worth to US$30.8 billion, putting him third on the list. The shares of Evergrande, one of China’s largest property developers, have plummeted by 29 per cent this year, touching a 52-week low of HK$18 , amid concerns of its 144 billion yuan (US$21 billion) in outstanding debt.
Pony Ma Huateng, founder of China’s dominant social network operator and mobile games publisher Tencent Holdings, stayed as the second-richest Chinese tycoon, with his estimated wealth shrinking by US$6.2 billion to US$32.8 billion. The Shenzhen-based company’s shares have plunged 33.7 per cent this year.
It wasn’t entirely gloom and doom among China’s 10 richest men. He Xiangjian, founder and former chairman of China’s largest appliances maker Midea Group, increased his estimated wealth by US$800 million to US$19.5 billion, raising his 2018 ranking by two spots to fifth place.
Old fashioned businesses proved to be resilient. Zhang Yong, co-founder of the popular hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao, joined the list with US$7.7 billion on the strength of an IPO in September. Shi Yonghong, the other founder of Haidilao, was estimated at US$3.65 billion.
Pang Kang, who chairs Foshan Haitian, one of China’s biggest soy sauce suppliers, jumped US$2.8 billion for a 2018 fortune of US$8.8 billion.
