In the latest Forbes China Rich List, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become China's richest person with a fortune of $69.3 billion (RM273.26 billion), surpassing Nongfu Spring chairman Zhong Shanshan's $68 billion (RM268.134 billion). The top ten includes many familiar names, such as Tencent founder Pony Ma (Ma Huateng), CATL chairman Robin Zeng (Zeng Yuqun), NetEase founder William Ding (Ding Lei), as well as Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. Lei Jun has also entered the top ten for the first time, ranking tenth with $30.4 billion (RM119.872 billion), while Jack Ma is now in 11th place with $29.6 billion (RM116.717 billion), marking the first reversal of rankings between the two in recent years.
According to a Hong Kong News Network report, this reshuffling of the list is seen as a signal of China's economic structural transformation. Analysts point out that Zhang Yiming's rise to the top marks that the digital economy, driven by algorithms, data, and platforms, has overtaken traditional consumer goods and manufacturing as the most powerful engine for wealth creation. Although Zhong Shanshan has slipped to second place, he still demonstrates strong anti-cyclical resilience thanks to his stable "consumer products + health" model.
For the past five years, Zhong Shanshan, who amassed his vast wealth through bottled water, had consistently held the top spot, reaching a peak of $77.1 billion (RM304.017 billion).
In addition, Pop Mart founder Wang Ning ranks 26th with $15.9 billion (RM62.696 billion). Liang Wenfeng, founder of the unlisted AI company DeepSeek, makes his debut on the list at 43rd with $11.5 billion (RM45.346 billion); his company's valuation is recognized by top investors such as Nvidia and Sequoia, highlighting the capital market's high expectations for the AI sector.
Notably, Cambricon founder Chen Tianshi is ranked 13th with a fortune of $25.6 billion (RM100.945 billion), surpassing traditional manufacturing giants such as BYD's Wang Chuanfu ($22.8 billion, RM89.904 billion) and Geely's Li Shufu ($21 billion, RM82.806 billion).
According to Phoenix News, as Cambricon has seen explosive growth in the AI chip market, its stock price and market value have soared. In January 2025, Chen Tianshi became Jiangxi's richest person with a wealth of about RMB 70 billion (RM39.728 billion). Subsequently, the company's market cap exceeded RMB 660 billion (RM374.579 billion) in August of the same year, and Chen Tianshi's holdings also rose sharply. According to Forbes' real-time data in September 2025, his estimated wealth had reached $21.5 billion (RM84.778 billion) at that time.