China’s super wealthy have earned a record $1.5 trillion in 2020, more than the past five years combined, as e-commerce and gaming boomed during pandemic lockdowns, an annual rich list said on Tuesday.
An extra 257 people also joined the billionaires club in the world’s number-two economy by August, following two years of shrinking membership, according to the closely watched Hurun Report. The country now has a total of 878 billionaires. The U.S. had 626 people in the top bracket at the start of the year, according to Hurun in its February global list.
The report found that there were around 2,000 individuals with a net worth of more than 2 billion yuan ($300 million) in August, giving them a combined net worth of $4 trillion.
Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce titan Alibaba, once again topped the list after his wealth surged a whopping 45% to $58.8 billion as online shopping firms saw a surge in business. He was followed by Pony Ma ($57.4 billion), boss of gaming giant Tencent who made an extra 50% despite concerns about his firm’s U.S. outlook after it was threatened with bans there over national security fears.