Pony Ma, CEO of Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent, has regained the title of China's richest man with $62.6 billion, according to the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List.
Previously China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, ranked 17th in the world with $61.9 billion, behind the 14th-ranked Ma, the list showed, based on March 9 data.
Zhong's Nongfu Spring, Wantai Biological Pharmacy, which both went public in 2020, had ranked him No. 5 in the world with $92.3 billion, ahead of Facebook founder Zuckerberg.
Ma regained the title of China's richest man not because his assets have seen significant appreciation, but because he has seen the least amount of asset retraction.
Shares of two of Zhong's companies have fallen 40% this year, causing his fortune to drop by $30.4 billion.
Tencent's shares have only retreated 15%, making Ma the richest man in China again.
In January, Tencent's shares had risen more than 30 percent, and Ma's fortune rose to $18 billion in the past year.
Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo's total market value topped $200 billion in 2020, once making its founder Colin Huang worth more than Ma and the third richest man in China.
Tencent shareholding structure shows Pony Ma holds $40 billion worth of shares
