Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, held onto his status as China's richest tycoon this year as surging demand for online shopping and other services during the coronavirus pandemic swelled the fortunes of internet entrepreneurs, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
Ma's fortune rose 45% percent over 2019 to $58.8 billion, according to Hurun Research Institute, which follows the country's wealthy.
Ma Huateng, founder of Tencent, which operates the popular WeChat messaging service, was No. 2 at $57.4 billion, up 50%. Debuting at No. 3 was Zhong Shanshan, chairman of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, with $53.7 billion