By Sharen Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR: The global frenzy for Labubu dolls propelled Pop Mart International Group founder Wang Ning to become the biggest percentage gainer on Forbes' 2025 list of China's 100 richest tycoons.
His fortune skyrocketed more than fourfold to US$22.2 billion from US$5.5 billion last year, lifting him to 13th place on the list.
Overall, the combined fortune of China's 100 wealthiest individuals jumped by US$320 billion to US$1.35 trillion in 2025, up from US$1.03 trillion a year earlier, according to Forbes.
The surge was driven by a stock market rally fuelled by the AI boom and expectations of further government stimulus to revive a sluggish economy amid ongoing US-China trade tensions. The benchmark CSI 300 Index gained 15 per cent since last year, with two-thirds of listees seeing their fortunes grow.
For the fifth year in a row, Zhong Shanshan, founder of Nongfu Spring, retained his position as China's richest person. His wealth jumped by US$26.3 billion to US$77.1 billion, as the bottled water giant reported double-digit growth in both revenue and profit. ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming rose to second place, adding US$23.7 billion to reach US$69.3 billion, after TikTok avoided a U.S. shutdown through a new joint venture deal.
Tencent's Ma Huateng slipped to third, despite his wealth rising 35 per cent to US$62.8 billion, buoyed by a 40% surge in Tencent's shares on the back of strong gaming and advertising revenue. CATL's Robin Zeng ranked fourth with US$53.5 billion, while NetEase founder William Ding rounded out the top five with US$47.5 billion, up from US$27.4 billion last year.
Meanwhile, AI chipmaker Chen Tianshi of Cambricon Technologies nearly tripled his fortune to US$21 billion following the company's first-ever half-year profit of US$140 million.
At the other end of the spectrum, Meituan's Wang Xing saw his wealth plunge 42 per cent to US$8.4 billion amid a fierce price war with Alibaba and JD.com.
Eight newcomers joined the list, led by DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng (No. 34, US$11.5 billion), whose cost-efficient AI model launch in January sparked a tech rally. Range Intelligent Computing's Zhou Chaonan (No. 85, US$5.3 billion) also made her debut, becoming one of the few women on the list.
Six tycoons re-entered the rankings, including Ecovacs Robotics' Qian Dongqi (No. 93, US$5.05 billion), after his company's net profit surged over 60 per cent. Meanwhile, Dalian Wanda's Wang Jianlin, once China's richest man, dropped off the list as his property empire struggled with a liquidity crunch and asset sales.
According to Forbes (www.forbes.com/china), the minimum net worth to qualify rose to US$4.6 billion, up from US$3.9 billion last year. Valuations were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of October 17, 2025, with private companies assessed against comparable public peers.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2025/11/1309540/labubu-craze-sends-pop-mart-founders-fortune-soaring-fourfold
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