China's Rich Pooerer, Says Hurun Rich List 2012

By Niam Seet Wei BEIJING, Sept 25 (Bernama)-- The number of billionaires in China has dropped by 20 per cent to 251 individuals this year but is still considerably higher compared with only 15 billionaires six years ago, the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute said in a report on Tuesday. The Hurun Rich List 2012 which was released Monday said out of the top 1,000 individuals in the list, 469 saw their wealth shrink, of which the wealth of 37 had shrunk by over 50 per cent, mainly those from the solar, textiles and retail sectors. "While 291 saw their wealth grow, 114 stayed the same and there were 150 new faces," said the Hurun Research Institute, which is renowned for its annual China Rich List. It said the average wealth of the Hurun Top 1000 is down 9.0 per cent to US$860 million, but still almost double that of 2008 when it was at US$439 million. The tycoon for the beverage company Wahaha, Zong Qinghou, 67, topped the list this year, with a fortune of US$12.6 billion. He regained the top berth held in 2010, becoming the only third person in 14 years to retain the crown. Following Zong, Chinese property tycoon Wang Jianlin, 58 and chairman and founder of top Chinese search engine Baidu, Robin Li Yanhong, 44, clinched second and third places respectively. "Although this year has seen some significant wealth bloodletting, it is worth remembering that these entrepreneurs are still up 40 per cent on two years ago and almost 10 times 10 years ago," said Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf. Hurun Rich List 2012 is an annual ranking of the 1000 richest individuals in China. This is the 14th year of the China Rich List, since Hurun Report founded it in 1999. --BERNAMA