Jack Ma loses title of richest man in China after being subjected to Beijing exam

BEIJING (Reuters) – Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma lost the title of China’s richest man, a list released on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered as his empire came under pressure. close scrutiny by Chinese regulators.

Ma and her family had taken first place for China’s richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019, but now ranks fourth behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan, Pony Ma. of Tencent Holding and e-commerce reached Collin Huang of Pinduoduo, the latest list shown.

His fall to the top three comes “after Chinese regulators subdued Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues,” the Hurun report said.

Ma’s recent woes were sparked by an Oct. 24 speech in which he criticized China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his group’s $ 37 billion IPO just days before. the public listing of the fintech giant.

Regulators have since tightened antitrust control over the country’s tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official antitrust investigation into Alibaba in December.

Chinese regulators have also started to tighten their grip on the FinTech industry and have asked Ant to turn some of its business into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms.

Ma, who is not known for stepping away from the limelight, then vanished from public view for about three months, sparking frenzied speculation about her fate. He reappeared in January with a 50-second video appearance.

China’s current richest man Zhong made his first appearance at the top spot largely thanks to stock market performances by Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls.

Ma from Tencent saw his wealth increase by 70% over the year to 480 billion yuan ($ 74.16 billion) while Huang from Pinduoduo’s fortune increased 283% to 450 billion yuan, according to the report. listing. In comparison, Ma and her family’s wealth increased 22%, to 360 billion yuan.

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, owner of TikTok, first entered the top five Chinese billionaires on Hurun’s Global Rich List, with an estimated personal wealth of $ 54 billion.

(This story is passed on to correct the date of Jack Ma’s regulation speech as October 24, not October 23 at par 4)