Ma has blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37bn IPO just days before its public listing
02 March 2021 - 12:12
byYingzhi Yang and Brenda Goh
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Beijing — Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China's richest man, a list published on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered while his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators.
Ma and his family had held the top spot for China's richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo’s Collin Huang, the latest list showed.
His fall out of the top three comes “after China's regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on antitrust issues,” the Hurun report said.
Ma’s recent woes were triggered by an October 24 speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37bn IPO just days before the fintech giant's public listing.
Regulators have since tightened antitrust scrutiny on the country's tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official antitrust probe into Alibaba in December.
Chinese regulators also began to tighten their grip on the fintech sector and have asked Ant to fold some of its businesses into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms.
Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged in January with a 50-second video appearance.
China's current richest man, Zhong, made his first appearance at the top spot with a fortune of 550-billion yuan ($85bn), largely thanks to the share price performances of Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls.
Tencent's Ma saw his wealth swell 70% over the year to 480-billion yuan while Pinduoduo's Huang's fortune grew 283% to 450- billion yuan, the list said. In comparison, the wealth of Ma and his family grew 22%, to 360-billion yuan.
Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner Bytedance, broke into the top five rankings among Chinese billionaires in Hurun's Global Rich List for the first time, with an estimated personal wealth of $54bn.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Jack Ma is no longer China’s richest man
Ma has blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37bn IPO just days before its public listing
Beijing — Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China's richest man, a list published on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered while his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators.
Ma and his family had held the top spot for China's richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo’s Collin Huang, the latest list showed.
His fall out of the top three comes “after China's regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on antitrust issues,” the Hurun report said.
Ma’s recent woes were triggered by an October 24 speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37bn IPO just days before the fintech giant's public listing.
Regulators have since tightened antitrust scrutiny on the country's tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official antitrust probe into Alibaba in December.
Chinese regulators also began to tighten their grip on the fintech sector and have asked Ant to fold some of its businesses into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms.
Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged in January with a 50-second video appearance.
China's current richest man, Zhong, made his first appearance at the top spot with a fortune of 550-billion yuan ($85bn), largely thanks to the share price performances of Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls.
Tencent's Ma saw his wealth swell 70% over the year to 480-billion yuan while Pinduoduo's Huang's fortune grew 283% to 450- billion yuan, the list said. In comparison, the wealth of Ma and his family grew 22%, to 360-billion yuan.
Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner Bytedance, broke into the top five rankings among Chinese billionaires in Hurun's Global Rich List for the first time, with an estimated personal wealth of $54bn.
Reuters
China imposes new restrictions on online lenders including Jack Ma’s Ant
Ant to look more like financial holding firm than fintech giant after deal with China
Regulators put squeeze on Ant ahead of IPO
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