One hundred and ninety-five people became billionaires in the past year, according to Forbes. Among them, more hail from Greater China than anywhere else, including 44 from the mainland and nine from Taiwan.
The richest of all the 195 newly minted billionaires is 39-year-old Colin Huang, or Huang Zheng, who has a personal net worth of US$13.5 billion. In September 2015, he set up Pinduoduo, which runs a social commerce site with the same name that features a group-buying function and low prices. The company went public in New York in July 2018, and now has a market capitalization of about US$36 billion.
Tencent founder Pony Ma, or Ma Huateng, remains the richest individual in China and the 20th globally, with a fortune of US$38.8 billion. He is followed by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, who is worth US$37.3 billion.