ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become China's richest person with a fortune of US$69.3 billion, surpassing Nongfu Spring chairman Zhong Shanshan (US$68b) in the latest Forbes China Rich List update for January 2026.
The top ten features familiar names including Tencent's Pony Ma, CATL founder Robin Zeng, NetEase's William Ding, and Hong Kong entrepreneur Li Ka-shing. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun ranks within the top ten with US$30.4 billion, followed closely by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma at US$29.6 billion.
The list highlights a generational shift. For the past five years, Zhong, whose wealth built on bottled water once peaked at US$77.1 billion, consistently held the top spot. Zhang's ascent is seen as cementing the algorithm and data-driven tech sector as the dominant wealth engine.
A notable debut is Liang Wenfeng, founder of AI company DeepSeek, entering the list at US$11.5 billion. Remarkably, his wealth valuation stems from investments by firms like Nvidia and Sequoia despite his company not being publicly listed.
Other notable rankings include BYD's Wang Chuanfu at 15th with US$22.8 billion, SF Express' Wang Wei at 23rd (US$16.6b), Pop Mart's Wang Ning at 26th (US$15.9b), and Great Wall Motor's Wei Jianjun sharing the US$11.5b spot with Liang at 42nd and 43rd.
