Musk returned to the world's richest man, and Zhong Gui became China's richest man for the fourth consecutive time.
On March 25th, Hurun Research Institute released the 2024 Hurun Global Rich List, with a wealth calculation deadline of January 15th, 2024. This is the 13th consecutive year that Hurun Research Institute has released the "Global Rich List".
The list shows an increase of 167 billion dollar entrepreneurs worldwide, bringing the total number of known billion dollar entrepreneurs to 3279. The United States increased the most, by 109 places, reaching 800 places; China decreased by 155 places to 814, still ranking first in the world; India ranks third with 271th place, an increase of 84 places, making it the country with the most new $1 billion entrepreneurs outside of the United States. It is worth mentioning that with the outbreak of AI, more than half of the world's new wealth comes from AI.
In terms of ranking, Elon Musk became the world's richest person for the third time in four years with a wealth of 1.67 trillion yuan; Zhong Ting became the richest person in China for the fourth consecutive time with a wealth of 450 billion yuan.
Musk regains the title of world's richest man
Among the top ten most watched lists, 52 year old Elon Musk regained the top spot with a wealth of 1.67 trillion yuan, thanks to Tesla's record high delivery volume causing its stock price to soar. At the same time, SpaceX, the space exploration technology company of Musk, has reached a new height of valuation with the support of successful launch, satellite Internet projects and lucrative government contracts.
Jeff Bezos, 60, rose to second place with a wealth of 1.33 trillion yuan, and his wealth surged 57% this year, mainly driven by Amazon's cloud computing winning market share. Bezos's wealth has rebounded significantly this year, increasing by 480 billion yuan after shrinking by 470 billion yuan last year.
74 year old "King of Luxury" Bernard Arnott has shrunk by 190 billion yuan this year, more than anyone else, falling to third place with a wealth of 1.26 trillion yuan due to poor performance in the luxury goods industry. LVMH has also given the title of Europe's most valuable enterprise to weight loss drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk.
39 year old Mark Zuckerberg became the entrepreneur with the highest wealth growth on the list with a wealth of 1.14 trillion yuan, an increase of 650 billion yuan, and Meta's stock price more than doubled.
79 year old Larry Ellison rose three places with a wealth ranking of 1.04 trillion yuan, an increase of 320 billion yuan, due to Oracle's expansion of cloud services and some strategic acquisitions.
93 year old Warren Buffett remains in fifth place with a wealth of 1.04 trillion yuan, showing no signs of decline. Despite his enormous wealth, he still leads a simple life. He promised to donate over 99% of his wealth and has already donated over 56 billion US dollars, mainly through the Gates Foundation and the foundation established by his children.
67 year old Steve Ballmer's wealth increased by 41% to 1.02 trillion yuan, ranking seventh, with most of his wealth still in Microsoft stocks.
Bill Gates, aged 68, has seen a 25% increase in wealth, reaching 1 trillion yuan, ranking eighth. Gates' main income now is investment, as he reduced his initial 45% stake in Microsoft to 1% today.
50 year old Larry Page's wealth increased by 64%, ranking ninth with 890 billion yuan. Interestingly, Page is known for his love for kite surfing.
66 year old Mukesh Ambani ranks tenth with a wealth of 830 billion yuan. It is worth noting that his wealth has increased by 40%, demonstrating his keen business acumen, which has enabled him to play an important role in the Indian economic landscape. At the beginning of this month, Ambani's youngest son's luxurious pre wedding party became the focus of society.
China still ranks first in the world in terms of the number of people on the list
The list shows an increase of 167 billion dollar entrepreneurs worldwide, bringing the total number of known billion dollar entrepreneurs to 3279. The United States increased the most, by 109 places, reaching 800 places; China decreased by 155 places to 814, still ranking first in the world; India ranks third with 271 places, an increase of 84 places, making it the country with the most new $1 billion entrepreneurs outside of the United States.
At the age of 70, Zhong Ting's wealth has shrunk by 9% compared to last year, becoming China's richest person for the fourth consecutive time with 450 billion yuan, ranking 21st in the world, down 6 places. Nongfu Spring, a Hong Kong listed company, performed outstandingly in the first half of last year, with sales revenue and profits increasing by 14% and 16% year-on-year. Wantai Biotechnology, another A-share listed company under its umbrella, has seen a decline in performance over the past year, with its stock price falling nearly 30% year-on-year. The company's market value has shrunk by 35 billion yuan compared to the same period last year. Nongfu Spring ranks 211th in the 2023 Hurun Global 500.
44 year old Huang Zheng's wealth has increased by 71% compared to last year, or 160 billion yuan, making him the entrepreneur with the highest wealth growth in China this year. He was promoted to second place in China for the first time with 385 billion yuan, up 3 places, ranking 24th globally, up 15 places. Pinduoduo's third quarter report last year showed a year-on-year growth of over 90% in total revenue, far exceeding market expectations. In addition, the development momentum of overseas business Temu and Kuaitountuan is good. In November 2023, Pinduoduo's market value once surpassed Alibaba's. Pinduoduo ranks 63rd in the 2023 Hurun Global 500.
53 year old Ma Huateng's wealth has decreased by 10% compared to last year, ranking third in China with 250 billion yuan. Ranked 36th globally, down 5 places. In the third quarter of last year, Tencent's revenue was over 150 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%, and its net profit was over 36 billion yuan, a decrease of 9%. The international market game revenue exceeded 13 billion yuan, an increase of 14%. In the 2023 Hurun Global 500, Tencent ranks 17th.
Hurun pointed out that China's wealth creation structure continues to undergo significant changes. In the past year, more than 200 billion dollar entrepreneurs in China have failed to make the list, while more than 50 new faces have emerged, a total decrease of around 150. Since reaching its peak in 2022, nearly 450 billion dollar entrepreneurs in China have failed the list in the past two years, while more than 120 new faces have emerged.
More than half of the newly added wealth comes from AI
"Global wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated." Hu Run, Chairman and Chief Research Officer of Hurun Baifu, stated that the threshold for entering the top ten on the list has increased from RMB 215 billion ten years ago to RMB 830 billion currently, and the wealth growth of the top ten entrepreneurs in the past year accounts for 60% of the total wealth growth on the list.
The list shows that the top ten entrepreneurs on this list have increased their wealth by 3 trillion yuan in the past year, accounting for 56% of the total new wealth. The total wealth of the top ten has reached 11 trillion yuan, accounting for 10% of the total list.
In terms of the number of billion dollar entrepreneurs, financial services (accounting for 10.1% of the total) and consumer goods (8%) are the top two sources of wealth.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that for the first time this year, AI has had a profound impact on the Hurun Global Rich List, with over half of the new wealth coming from AI. Entrepreneurs related to cloud computing, such as Meta, Amazon, Google's parent company Alphabet, Oracle, Microsoft, etc., have seen a significant increase in their wealth. Nvidia's Huang Renxun's wealth has significantly increased for the first time, entering the top 30 globally. Other professionals in the semiconductor industry, such as Chen Tianshi from Cambrian, Cai Mingjie from MediaTek, and Dai Wenyuan from the fourth paradigm of AI companies in Beijing, have also seen rapid wealth growth. However, although OpenAI has a valuation of nearly $100 billion, its founder Sam Ultraman is said to have no shares and therefore did not make it to the list.