The amount of China’s multimillionaires fell 11% this year, the biggest drop in 24 years – according to the Hurun China Rich List published on Tuesday (8).
This list includes individuals with a fortune of more than 5 billion yuan ($691 million).
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This time, 1,305 people entered the “ranking”, an 11% decrease in relation to last year, the highest ever recorded in 24 years. The global wealth of these billionaires also fell, 18%, reaching 3.5 trillion dollars.
The fortunes of China’s megarics have been hit by Beijing’s strict “zero covid” policy, which disrupts production and supply chains. They have also been hurt by falling stock markets after a two-year control campaign against the technology industry and by geopolitical volatility caused by events such as the war in Ukraine.
According to the Hurun list, the real estate and healthcare sectors have been particularly hard hit.
The three richest people in the country are the same as a year ago, with Zhong Shanghan, founder of bottled water company Nongfu Spring, in the lead with $65 billion.
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Alibaba founder Jack Ma plummets from fifth to ninth position after losing 29% of his wealth, now at $25.7 billion.
Almost 300 people have dropped off the list this year, mostly from the real estate sector, which is facing a severe debt crisis after a series of restrictions imposed by the government in 2020.
