China’s super-rich got $1.5 trillion richer during pandemic

China’s super-rich earned $1.5 trillion in 2020, more than the past five years combined, due to the popularity of e-commerce and gaming boomed during lockdowns.

An extra 257 people also joined the billionaire club in China by August, pushing the total to a total of 878 billionaires, following two years of shrinking membership.

In comparison, the US had 626 people in the top bracket at the start of the year.

According to a report by Hurun, there were around 2,000 individuals with a net worth of $300 million in August, giving them a combined net worth of $4 trillion.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma topped the list, with his wealth increasing to a whopping 45 percent to $58.8 billion due to a surge in online shopping.

The second was Tencent boss Pony Ma who made an extra 50 percent to push his net worth to $57.4 billion, despite threats to ban his firm in the US over national security fears.

Zhong Shanshan, who owns bottled water brand Nongfu, came in at third spot with $53.7 billion.

Hurun Report chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf noted that the amount of wealth created in just one year was unprecedented.