Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek which is a Chinese artificial intelligence phenomenon, has made his appearance on the Hurun Global Rich List with a fortune of 33 billion yuan (equivalent to HK$35.36 billion). DeepSeek attracted significant attention in January when it launched a new AI model, claiming that it had developed it at a much lower cost compared to its counterparts. This move triggered an AI stock selloff and led major Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, to adopt DeepSeek’s latest AI models.
Liang’s entry on the list is nearly three times more than the 13 billion yuan attributed to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is also a newcomer. The ranking also shows that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become the richest person in China, with his fortune increasing by 76% to 435 billion yuan, driven by the growing valuation of ByteDance’s AI business. Tencent co-founder Pony Ma Huateng secured the third place with 320 billion yuan.
Globally, Elon Musk regained the title of the world’s richest person for the fourth time in five years, with a fortune of 3.07 trillion yuan. The number of billionaires worldwide reached a record high of 3,442, including 163 new entrants this year. The United States leads with 870 billionaires, an increase of 70 from the previous year, while China ranks second with 823, adding nine more.
Among the fastest-growing fortunes, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun saw his wealth more than double to 220 billion yuan, entering China’s top ten for the first time. He surpassed Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing and his son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, who have a combined fortune of 210 billion yuan. US President Donald Trump also witnessed a significant rise in wealth to 52.5 billion yuan, making him the richest US president in history.
The financial services industry remains the dominant source of billionaire wealth, with one in ten of the listed entrepreneurs operating in this sector, followed by the consumer goods and healthcare sectors.
