54 Ningbo entrepreneurs included in ranks of Chinese billionaires

Fifty-four entrepreneurs from Ningbo, Zhejiang province, have secured spots on the 2024 list of Chinese people with a net worth exceeding 5 billion yuan ($701.52 million), as revealed in a report by the Hurun Research Institute on Oct 29.

Leading the pack is Ding Lei, chairman of Netease, maintaining his position as the wealthiest individual from Ningbo. Following closely are Peter Woo and Bessie Pao-Woo, Hong Kong entrepreneurs of Ningbo descent, and Cen Junda from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd, a native of Cixi, a county-level city of Ningbo.

Among these 54 individuals, 27 are entrepreneurs residing in Ningbo, putting the city in eighth place nationwide (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). Noteworthy figures include the Luo Liguo family of Hoshine Group, Ruan Liping and Ruan Xueping of Bull Group, and Ma Jianrong of Shenzhou International Group, who secured the top three positions.

Currently, more than half of the Ningbo entrepreneurs on the list are aged 60 and above, signifying a crucial generational transition for Ningbo's family enterprises.

The Hurun Rich List report for 2024 was based on wealth assessments as of Aug 30. This year, a total of 1,094 entrepreneurs made the prestigious list, as confirmed by the institute.

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, witnessed his net worth surge to over 350 billion yuan this year, an increase of 105 billion yuan from 2023, solidifying his position as China's wealthiest individual in 2024. Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring and Ma Huateng of Tencent claimed the second and third spots on the list, boasting net worths of 340 billion yuan and 315 billion yuan, respectively.

The top five sectors contributing to the net worth of listed entrepreneurs include industrial products, consumer goods, general health, real estate, as well as food and beverage. Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen emerged as the top three cities with the highest concentration of entrepreneurs featured on the list.