BEIJING: Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and Ant Group, is no more China’s richest man, showed a list published on Tuesday as his peers prospered while his empire was under strong scrutiny by Chinese regulators.
Jack Ma and his family ranked first among China’s richest on the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019, but are now in fourth place, behind “Nongfu Spring’s bottled water maker Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma, and from e-commerce starter Collin Huang of Pinduoduo”, the most recent list shown.
However, Jack Ma came to 3rd number “after China’s regulators controlled Ant Group and Alibaba on antitrust issues,” said the Hurun report.
Moreover, Jack Ma’s recent problems sparked by a speech on October 24 in which he spoke against China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $ 37 billion initial public offering just days before the giant fintech’s public listing.
Regulators have since stepped up antitrust scrutiny in the country’s technology sector, with Alibaba taking most of the heat, the market regulator launched an official antitrust investigation on Alibaba in December.
China’s regulators are also starting to tighten controls on the fintech sector, asking Ant group to turn part of its business into a self-regulating financial holding like a traditional financial company.
Ma, who is not known for dodging the spotlight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, prompting frantic speculation about his place.
However, He made his appearance again in January with a 50-second video appearance.
Zhong Shanshan Wealth:
China’s richest man, Zhong, came to the top first time with a wealth of 550 billion yuan ($ 85 billion), and also thanks to share price performances of Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise because he also controls it.
Tencent’s Ma saw his wealth rose 70 percent year-on-year to $ 480 billion, while Huang de Pingduo’s net worth rose 283 percent to 450 billion yuan. In comparison, Ma and his family’s wealth increased 22% to 360 billion yuan.
Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, owner of TikTok, also entered the top five positions among Chinese billionaires on the Hurun Global Rich List for the first time, with a personal fortune estimated at $ 54 billion.
