Text: Yu Yi
On March 17, Hurun Research Institute released the "2022 Hurun Global Rich List". According to statistics, the number of billion-dollar entrepreneurs around the world has hit a record high. There are 153 new billion-dollar entrepreneurs worldwide, equivalent to 3 per week, for a total of 3381.
Tesla's 50-year-old Elon Musk became the world's richest man for the second consecutive year with 1.29 trillion yuan, an increase of 4% over the same period last year. Although his wealth has decreased by nearly 100 billion yuan, Zhong, 68, is still the richest man in China with 455 billion yuan, ranking 15th in the world.
The number of billion-dollar entrepreneurs in China continued to surpass that of the United States, increasing by 75 to 1,133. The United States ranks second with $716 billion in entrepreneurs, an increase of 20 people. Both China and the United States each account for 55% of the world's billion-dollar entrepreneurs. India added 38 places, cementing the third place position, while the United Kingdom overtook Germany for fourth place.
China's richest man - Zhong Jingshan
Zhong's wealth of 455 billion yuan was ranked the richest man in China, ranking 15th in the world, down 8 places from last year, and the year-on-year wealth shrank by nearly 100 billion yuan. Although he is the founder of Nongfu Spring, Zhong Did not make a fortune by selling water. Prior to that, he founded Yangshengtang, a company focused on selling health care products, known for a product called "Turtle and Turtle Pill"; in 1996, Zhong founded Nongfu Spring and started a water sales business, and now Nongfu Spring has won about one-third of China's drinking water market.
On September 8, 2020, Nongfu Spring was successfully listed, and its stock price soared by 85%, and Zhong's wealth once surpassed Ma Yun and Ma Huateng to become the richest man in China. After the listing, Nongfu Spring's stock price opened a "rampage" mode, soared all the way, and has now doubled.
The market situation in 2021 is relatively special, affected by the epidemic, the global economy is facing great pressure, and many enterprises have been seriously affected. Zhong's position as the richest man has a lot to do with the industry particularity of Nongfu Spring, due to the rise in the stock price of Nongfu Spring, and Zhong Shui's share in Nongfu Spring is very large, so it can successfully reach the top of the rich list.
Relying on only 2 yuan a bottle of mineral water, Zhong Shui has become the richest man? Of course not, in addition to mineral water, Nongfu Spring also has tea π, screaming, Farmer Orchard and other explosive products, as of now, Nongfu Spring market value has reached 432.4 billion. In addition, Zhong And Wantai Biotech has risen to 156.9 billion yuan after being acquired for about 17 million yuan in 2001, becoming another "wealth code" for Zhong.
Ranked second - Zhang Yiming
Zhang Yiming, 39, of ByteDance, jumped second in China and 23rd in the world with a fortune of 340 billion yuan, up three places from last year. The company Zhang Yiming founded is not listed and is the youngest of the top ten richest people. In this list, Forbes recognizes his masterpiece as Tik tok, not ByteDance.
In fact, this is also understandable, because Tik tok is very popular overseas, although there is also Tik tok on Facebook, but it is a copycat, there is no way to compete with the real Tik tok. If ByteDance's companies go public, the total market capitalization may be higher than tencent and Alibaba, so that Zhang Yiming, although he is not yet 40 years old, may become the new richest man in China.
Today, ByteDance is recruiting for its VR business Pico on a large scale, with Pico having a total of 291 jobs as of March 15, distributed in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and other regions. In August 2021, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming spent $1.5 billion to acquire VR all-in-one Pico and completed internal integration within a few months. In the rumors of layoffs at major Internet companies, Pico has become one of the few businesses within ByteDance that is still expanding.
Ranked third - Zeng Yuqun
Zeng Yuqun, 54, rose from 11th in China and 24th in the world from 11th in China last year, up 19 places from last year, and his wealth increased by more than 100 billion yuan to 335 billion yuan, becoming the richest man in China's automotive industry. Zeng Yuqun was born in 1968 in Ningde, Fujian Province, and graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In 2011, Zeng Yuqun co-founded Ningde Times with Huang Shilin, an old classmate of Ningde No. 1 Middle School. In only six years, it has become the "golden chair" of the world's first new energy battery supplier. Seven years later, it rushed into the GEM as a unicorn, and the installed capacity of lithium battery energy storage projects ranked first in the country in 2019. In 2020, the stock price of CATL ushered in a continuous rise, rising by more than 210% in four months, and Zeng Yuqun became the richest man in Fujian.
The Ningde era, which he founded, is one of the earliest internationally competitive power battery manufacturers in China. Focusing on the research and development, production and sales of new energy vehicle power battery systems and energy storage systems, we are committed to providing first-class solutions for global new energy applications. Its core technology includes the manufacturing capabilities of the whole industry chain such as power and energy storage batteries, materials, battery cells, battery system research and development, battery recycling, secondary utilization, etc. So far, the market value of the Ningde era has exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan.
Ranked fourth - Ma Huateng
Last year's second-place Ma Huateng's wealth decreased by 150 billion yuan, ranking fourth in China and 28th in the world with 330 billion yuan, down 14 places from last year. In the field of video games, Tencent is the most famous. In fact, Tencent's strength is also very strong, and its business coverage is relatively large, covering games, social networking, online payment and other fields.
Tencent's influence in China's Internet market is unquestionable, like WeChat, China's largest social platform, which has absolute dominance in the social market and even shakes Alipay's position in the field of mobile payment. In addition, in the entire private enterprise market, its impact on the market is beyond doubt.
As a company known for its investment, Tencent has formed a huge investment territory. According to public information, Tencent has invested in more than 800 enterprises, of which more than 70 are listed companies, and Tencent indirectly controls the total market value of these enterprises, reaching 5.7 trillion yuan. It is reported that among the top 20 Internet companies released by the Internet Society of China, Tencent has invested in as many as 10 companies.
Ranked fifth - Jack Ma
Last year's fourth-place Ma Yun's wealth fell by more than 100 billion yuan, ranking fifth in China and 34th in the world with 235 billion yuan. As the founders of China's two major Internet giants, Alibaba's Jack Ma and Tencent's Ma Huateng also have very different styles. As one of the most concerned entrepreneurs in China, founder Ma Yun has always been relatively high-profile.
From the perspective of business achievements, Ma Yun is indeed a leader, e-commerce has changed consumption habits, changed the retail model, Alipay has changed payment habits, making life more convenient, these are the reasons why it is sought after. However, the recent layoffs and the evaporation of the market value of 3.8 trillion yuan have brought the stock price back to the original point, and Ma Yun has completely bid farewell to the throne of China's richest man. It seems that the Internet giant Alibaba has really suffered a midlife crisis. The Internet dividend is gradually disappearing, and it is difficult for new businesses to bring profit growth in the short term.
Jd.com, which was once said by Ma Yun that "will become a tragedy", also surpassed Ali in revenue last year, and unlike Ma Yun's image decline, Liu Qiangdong has performed well in social responsibility in recent years. JD.com alone donated 100 million yuan to Hong Kong, which made many people praise Liu Qiangdong. Moreover, Liu Qiangdong has also appeared frequently in the public eye recently, first spending 10 billion yuan to acquire Debon Logistics, and then leading Jingdong Technology Group to go public in Hong Kong. These will become Liu Qiangdong's increased weight in impacting China's richest man.
Which of China's top five richest people do you prefer for this?