Chinese drinks billionaire tops list of country’s richest

Two Chinese investors in beverage companies have topped a list of the country’s most wealthy citizens, with the Hurun Report announcing an increase of over 1,000 Chinese with net worth over one billion Yuan.

But for the first time in 10 years property entrepreneurs are nowhere to found in the top five, suggesting Chinese richest are finding their wealth in new and diverse fields as the company’s solid economic growth continues.

Fortune China chairman and editor-in-chief Thomas D. Gorman says while he takes various Chinese rich lists with “a grain of salt”, he says the nature of the diversification of industries is certainly a trend he’s seeing.

“I think the reality is that the list in that respect is accurate, there are a lot of fortunes made in the last 10 years in a whole range of industries, and that is a reflection of the landscape.”

“That is a relatively new trend, and if you go back to the early rich lists, there is also an amount of diversity there. I think as the Chinese economic phenomenon has grown, and the growth of the corporate universe has grown, you have this monstrously fast growing economy.”

The wealthiest Chinese are also much younger than their American or European counterparts to the tune of 15 years, and are experiencing growth in their wealth at a much faster rate, the publication reports.

Zong Qinghou, the 65-year old owner of beverage maker Wahaha is now the richest man in mainland China with a fortune of $US12 billion. Known as the “drinks king”, Qinghou has grown the Wahaha name into a powerhouse with expected profit of $US1.5 billion and over 30,000 employees – he jumped from 12th place last year.

Li Li, founder of pharmaceutical group Shenzhen Hepalink, came in second with a fortune of $US6 billion. He is the first pharmaceutical entrepreneur in the Hurun Rich List, making his entry due to the successful float of the company earlier this year.

Zhang Yin, who Hurun calls the richest self-made woman in the world, has been able to grow her fortune to $US5.6 billion through the growth of domestic retail – but has dropped into third place despite holding the title as China’s richest woman.

Liang Wen’gen has increased his wealth to $US5.4 billion, moving him from 20th to fourth place. Wen’gen has capitalised on the country’s boom in urbanisation and has grown his wealth by selling heavy construction equipment to miners – making him richer, Hurun reports, than any other property developer.

Robin Li Yanhong has doubled his wealth to $US5.3 billion, earning him fifth place with the success of his Baidu search engine partly due to the departure of Google in China. He intends to steer the site towards online retail.

Yan Bin, who recorded equal fifth place, also found his $US5.3 billion fortune in beverages with sales of Red Bull energy drinks set to hit $US800 million this year. He also owns the Reignwood property group which includes one of the most popular golf clubs in the country.

Some inclusions on the list have not been so lucky, with last year’s number one, Wang Chuanfu, falling to 12th place with his fortune falling to $US4.6 billion.

Hurun publisher Rupert Hoogewerf points out that average age on the list is 51, with most entrepreneurs starting at aged 34. He also says the country now has the highest number of billionaires anywhere in the world.

“We already know of 189 US dollar billionaires in China this year, but you can safely say that we have missed at least half again, meaning there are between 400 and 500 USD billionaires.”

However, Gorman says all Chinese rich lists should be taken with a “grain of salt”, saying the amount of information publically available is less than in other countries and that the list should not be seen as a definitive guide.