Shenzhen now has more billionaires than New York, China has most in world

Shenzhen in China now has more billionaires than New York City. Meanwhile, China has 1,133 listed “billionaires”, more billionaires (measured in USD) than any other country in the world.

These 1,133 Shenzhen billionaires make up 34% of the world’s 3,381 billionaires. This is despite the fact China lost 160 of its billionaires in a government crackdown last year. The crackdown was on major e-commerce companies. China also curbed lending on over-leveraged property developers.

Still, China leads the world in its number of billionaires, according to the Hurun Global Rich List. While Beijing is ranked #1 with 144 “known” billionaires in residence, Shanghai comes in at second place with 121. Shenzhen came in third with 113 billionaires. New York has 110.

According to Forbes‘s “China’s 100 Richest 2021”, Zhong Shanshan is the richest person in China, with US$65.9 billion. Shanshan chairs a bottled water company called Nongfu Spring. He dropped out of elementary school during the country’s Cultural Revolution, and started working in construction. Shanshan then landed jobs as a news reporter and sales agent, before he finally founded his own business. Whilst dropping a large wallop of his total wealth in last week’s China stock rout, he still maintains his position as China’s richest man.

The second richest person in China is Robin Zeng, chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technolog. CATL is one of the world’s largest suppliers of batteries for electric vehicles. Forbes lists him as having a net worth of US$50.8 billion.

SOURCE: Fortune | Forbes | Forbes