One day you’re in, the other day you’re out. China’s billionaire rankings seem as stable as hydrogen. In 2017, Hui Ka Yan, founder of real estate developer China Evergrande Group, was the nation’s richest man. That throne was claimed by Alibaba Group Holding’s Jack Ma one year later. Now, Zhong Shanshan, chairman of water bottler Nongfu Spring Co., is China’s wealthiest; in fact, he is even richer than Warren Buffett. Eye-popping billions seem to spring from all walks of life.
The swift reshuffling in part reflects structural changes in the Chinese economy. Real estate developers were riding high until late 2017, when Beijing launched a draconian corporate deleveraging campaign. That diet checked the asset expansion of the likes of Hui, who runs the world’s most indebted real estate business, and paved way for the rise of tech tycoons.