Pony Ma, founder and chairman of China’s tech titan Tencent, has become the richest Chinese in the world as he total assets have accumulated to 295 billion RMB ($47 billion), according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2018 released by Hurun Report on Feb. 28.
Ma ranked 15th globally, up from 23rd a year ago.
Ma is the 13th Chinese man to top the list since Hurun Report established this ranking program.
The growth in his wealth came principally from the rise of Tencent stock over the past year. Its stock price soared 114.4% in 2017, helping the company enter the exclusive US$500 billion market value club.