It’s no secret that China’s growing wealth makes it a hub for billionaires, but Hurun’s latest “Global Under 40 & Self Made Rich List” puts it into perspective: according to the report, about 80 percent of the world’s entrepreneur billionaires are from the United States and China. Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, said in a statement, “That should be pretty scary for the rest of the world.”
Leading the ranks in China at number nine, just behind Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, is Wang Tao, founder of the world’s biggest drone maker DJI Technology who is also known as Frank Wang. The 37-year-old is worth US4 billion, and his consumer drones are shipped all over the world.
The drone maker recently made headlines when JD.com announced it would be partnering with DJI to pioneer delivery of heavy loads using drones. JD.com’s drone strategy is intended to help the e-commerce company bring products to consumers in rural areas, and is part of the long list of proposed advancements to help it gain a competitive edge against its rival Alibaba
Wang, a Shenzhen-based CEO, is among those who hope to show Chinese consumers, who often prefer foreign-made products, that Chinese goods can also be synonymous with quality. He told Forbes in a 2015 interview, "Chinese people think imported products are good and made in-China products are inferior. We're always second-class. I'm unsatisfied with the overall environment, and I want to do something to change it."
Most of the other individuals in Hurun’s top 10 rankings are tech entrepreneurs from the United States, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg leading the pack with a fortune of US58 billion.
Overall, China trails just behind the United States in sheer numbers—China is home to 18 billionaires, with most living in Beijing and Shanghai. The United States has 20, with the majority of them making their home in San Francisco. Forty-seven names appear on the list in total, and out of the entire group, wealth has increased by 29 percent on average compared to the year before.