1. Zhang Yiming, 69.3 billion USD - Leading by ByteDance
Mr. Zhang Yiming continues to hold the position of the richest person in China with assets estimated by Forbes at 69.3 billion USD. With this asset, he ranks 27th in the list of the richest people in the world.
Zhang Yiming is the co-founder of ByteDance, a technology group widely known for its short video platform TikTok and its Chinese market version, Douyin.
The development of digital content platforms has made ByteDance one of the world's most valuable private technology companies. This is also the main platform that creates Zhang Yiming's assets.
According to Forbes, Zhang Yiming is the richest person in China in the 2026 billionaire list, with assets of 69.3 billion USD.
2. Zhong Shanshan, 57.3 billion USD - Wealth from bottled water
Second in China is Mr. Zhong Shanshan with assets of about 57.3 billion USD, ranked 34th in the world.
Mr. Zhong Shanshan is the founder and Chairman of Nongfu Spring, a leading bottled water business in China. The company listed shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (China) in 2020.
Besides Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan's assets are also related to the pharmaceutical sector. Compared to the rest in the top 5, he is a rare case with assets mainly from consumer goods and traditional manufacturing, instead of the Internet or artificial intelligence.
Nongfu Spring's stock price fluctuations directly affect the asset value estimated by Forbes for this billionaire.
3. Ma Huateng, 46.3 billion USD - The power of the Tencent ecosystem
Mr. Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, owns assets of about 46.3 billion USD. He is currently the third richest person in China and ranks 38th in the global billionaire ranking.
Ma Huateng is co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings. This group operates WeChat, one of the most popular messaging, payment and online service providers in China.
Tencent also owns a large-scale video game segment, along with a wide investment portfolio in many technology companies inside and outside China.
Ma Huateng's assets are therefore significantly affected by Tencent's stock price as well as the business results of the game, advertising and digital financial services segments.
4. Liang Wenfeng, $39.5 billion - Accelerated thanks to DeepSeek
The most notable appearance in the top 5 is Mr. Liang Wenfeng. The founder of DeepSeek currently owns assets of about 39.5 billion USD, ranking fourth in China and 50th in the world.
Liang Wenfeng is the founder of DeepSeek artificial intelligence company, headquartered in Hangzhou, and also the founder of High-Flyer Capital Management quantitative trading company.
DeepSeek attracted global attention after announcing the R1 model in 2025. The company said that this model can compete in performance with leading artificial intelligence products but has lower operating costs.
Liang Wenfeng founded DeepSeek in 2023 and used part of the money earned from High-Flyer to develop the company. High-Flyer was founded by him and two classmates in 2015, applying mathematics and artificial intelligence in quantitative investment activities.
5. William Ding, 39.2 billion USD - Wealth from online games
Ranked fifth is Mr. William Ding with assets of 39.2 billion USD. NetEase founder ranks 53rd in the list of the richest people in the world.
William Ding is the founder and CEO of NetEase, one of the largest online game businesses in China.
NetEase's product portfolio includes many long-term games and mobile device titles. In addition to online games, the business also expanded into digital music, e-commerce, cinema and some other Internet services.
William Ding was once the richest person in China and the Internet billionaire, the country's first online game in 2003. His asset value still mainly depends on shares in NetEase.
Real-time billionaire rankings reflect the change in assets according to each trading session. The asset value and ranking of billionaires may continue to fluctuate along with stock prices, exchange rates and valuations of unlisted businesses.
