Chinese billionaires lost a third of their wealth over the past year

The latest annual World Ultra Health Report 2012-2013 by wealth research firm Wealth-X revealed that Chinese billionaires lost value equivalent to US$160 billion from the period August 2011 to July 2012. This is due to poor equity market performance with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falling 20 percent in that period.

The Wealth X analysis revealed there were 150 Chinese billionaires in 2011 but only 147 remained on the list this year, as the total wealth of China’s billionaires plunged to US$380 billion from last year’s US$540 billion.

The report also said the wealth of ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Asia decreased by around 7 percent to $6.3 trillion over the past year, a result of weaker equity markets and lower export demand from the West. By contrast, the combined wealth of the super rich in North America rose 2.8 percent to $8.8 trillion, buoyed by positive equity markets and stabilizing housing prices.

Forbes magazine also reported a drop in the number of Chinese billionaires earlier this year, as their numbers dropped from 115 in 2011 to 95 in 2012. This is attributed to reduced profits and lower stock valuations as a result of China’s slower growth brought on by the global economic crisis and tighter credit policies.

Some of the names who are no longer on Forbes’ Chinese billionaires list include Ding Shizhong of sports footwear maker Anta, Lei Jufang of Tibetan Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine, Zhang Chang Hong of Shanghai Great Wisdom and Li Hongxin of Sun Paper.

The top five richest Chinese billionaires as of March 2012, according to Forbes magazine, are:

1)     Robin Li, CEO of Baidu search engine – net worth of US$10.2 billion

2)     Liang Wengen, founder of Sany heavy industries group – net worth of US$8.1 billion

3)     Zong Qinghou, founder Wahaha beverages group – net worth of US$6.5 billion

4)     He Xianjian, co-founder appliance maker Midea group – net worth of US$6.2 billion

5)     Hui Ka Yan, founder of Evergrande real estate – net worth of US$5.8 billion

EW