Zhang Yiming tops China's rich list, but Mukesh Ambani still leads Asia

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has claimed the top spot as China’s richest person with a fortune of $49.3 billion, according to the latest Hurun China Rich List. However, despite his position, Zhang’s wealth is a far cry from that of Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries’ chairman and India’s richest, whose net worth has soared to over $102 billion.

 

China’s wealth slide 

China’s billionaire population has significantly decreased, with total wealth dropping to $3 trillion, a 10 per cent decrease year-on-year. Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of Hurun, observed that this is the list’s third straight annual decline, highlighting China’s ‘difficult year’ for both the economy and the stock market. With fewer newcomers joining China’s billionaire ranks than in the last two decades, the nation is facing an unprecedented era of limited wealth creation. 

India: Asia’s new billionaire powerhouse 

In contrast, India is riding high, adding more billionaires than ever and outpacing China’s wealth growth. The Hurun India Rich List, released in August, described India as “Asia’s wealth creation engine,” with a 29 per cent boost in billionaire numbers, reaching an all-time high of 334. This dynamism stands out even as China saw its billionaire count dip by 25 per cent. While China still leads with 753 billionaires, India’s surge underlines its economic momentum. 

This year, India welcomed new billionaires across all major sectors, reinforcing its robust economic growth. In contrast, China added only 54 new entrants, its lowest increase in 20 years — a stark reflection of a slowing economy and evolving regulatory pressures.

 

Ambani vs Zhang: Wealth and influence collide 

Zhang, 41, built his fortune primarily through ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and Douyin, with revenues reaching $110 billion last year. However, his net worth of $49.3 billion (estimated by Bloomberg at a slightly lower $43 billion) falls short of Ambani’s towering $102 billion.

 

On the other hand, Ambani’s wealth has grown 25 per cent this year, fuelled by rising stock prices of Reliance Industries. The group’s investments in energy, retail, and its telecom arm Jio — buoyed by recent price hikes — have solidified Ambani’s financial empire.

 

The world’s wealth titans 

Globally, some of the wealthiest figures continue to dominate, with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk leading the world’s billionaire list at $274.7 billion. Here’s a glance at the top 10 wealthiest individuals worldwide:

 

- Elon Musk (United States) – $274.7 billion (Tesla, SpaceX, X) 

- Larry Ellison (United States) – $211.7 billion (Oracle Corporation) 

- Jeff Bezos (United States) – $205.6 billion (Amazon, Blue Origin, others) 

- Mark Zuckerberg (United States) – $198.3 billion (Meta Platforms) 

- Bernard Arnault (France) – $174.6 billion (LVMH) 

- Warren Buffett (United States) – $143.0 billion (Berkshire Hathaway) 

- Larry Page (United States) – $137.6 billion (Alphabet Inc.) 

- Amancio Ortega (Spain) – $132.6 billion (Zara) 

- Sergey Brin (United States) – $131.7 billion (Alphabet Inc.) 

- Steve Ballmer (United States) – $125.8 billion (Microsoft)

 

Global wealth leaders by country 

From luxury fashion in Europe to tech giants in the United States, each country’s wealthiest individual reflects regional strengths:

 

- United States: Elon Musk 

- India: Mukesh Ambani 

- China: Zhong Shanshan 

- Japan: Tadashi Yanai 

- France: Bernard Arnault 

- Spain: Amancio Ortega 

- Mexico: Carlos Slim Helu 

- Canada: David Thomson 

- Indonesia: Prajogo Pangestu 

- Italy: Giovanni Ferrero 

- Austria: Mark Mateschitz 

- Germany: Klaus-Michael Kuehne 

- Hong Kong: Robin Zeng 

- Switzerland: Gianluigi Aponte 

- Brazil: Eduardo Saverin 

- Russia: Leonid Mikhelson 

- Israel: Eyal Ofer