Chinese Entrepreneur Jack Ma lost his crown as Asia's richest billionaire. Who supplanted the Alibaba tycoon?
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has reigned atop a list of Asia's richest billionaires for three years, but he was toppled from his perch overnight.
Tencent head Ma Huateng bumped him overnight, according to a compilation by «Forbes» – the first time he has ranked number-one in China as well.
But, not so fast – the U.S. publication later issued an addendum to the story, saying that Ma had won back territory over the Tencent bilionaire. Alibaba's stock rose nearly 4 percent in New York trading last night, lifting Ma's overall fortune.
$1 Billion in Change
The two are neck-and-neck: Ma's net worth tallied $36.2 billion, just shading Ma Huateng's $36.2 billion fortune when trading ended overnight. Relatively little in wealth terms – $1 billion or so – separates them from India's Mukesh Ambani and Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing.
That means the title of Asia's richest remains up for grabs – just as long as the titleholder doesn't get too accustomed to the top spot.
Ma Huateng and Jack Ma illustrate how dominant Internet services and content are in China, and how the country's high population is fuelling hot growth.
