Top Richest People in China 2015

6) Lei Jun – $13.5 Billion

Many people call Lei Jun Steve Jobs of China. This 45-year-old self-made billionaire is the cofounder of Xiaomi, a fast growing mobile phone company. The company, which was founded in 2010, is an immensely popular venture. Brand Xiaomi is popular not only in China but also in many parts of the world.

5) Robin Li – $15.3 Billion

Self-made billionaire Robin Li is the CEO of NASDAQ-listed Baidu, the largest online search company in China. The company has bolstered its wireless business through acquisitions. Currently it is working on the next generation of search through voice and image recognition.

4) Ma Huateng – $19.1 Billion

This 43-year-old self-made billionaire turned Chinese internet firm Tencent into a behemoth on the back of profits generated from online games. The company offers its customers free services like messaging.

3) Li Hejun – $21.1 Billion

Li Hejun is the chairman of Hanergy Holdings. This 47-year-old self-made billionaire is currently focusing on driving down the cost of thin-film solar technology. He purchased three Western thin film solar businesses in 2013 and one, Alta Devices of California, in 2014.

2) Jack Ma – $25.3 Billion

This 50-year-old self-made billionaire captured the world stage like no other Chinese businessman in September 2014 with record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering of his e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on the NYSE. This business maverick, who was rejected from Harvard 10 times, has more than a dozen other investments.

1) Wang Jianlin – $41.9 Billion

China’s richest man and self-made billionaire Wang Jianlin is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, a commercial real estate behemoth that controls more than 200 department stores, luxury hotels and shopping plazas. In 2014, Wang Jianlin announced investment projects in Beverly Hills, Chicago and Australia. He raised $3.7 billion in December 2014 when he listed his company Wanda Commercial Properties in Hong Kong.

As you can see, all the top 20 richest people in China are billionaires. They have played a significant role in making China the world’s largest economy (by purchasing power parity) and the world’s second largest economy (by nominal GDP).