In 1999, when the first Chinese "rich list" was published, there was only one billionaire on it. Rong Yiren, the founder of CITIC Group, topped the list of Chinese billionaires with a wealth of about $1 billion. Now, the Hurun Report lists 106 billionaires in China, compared to only 14 last year. Although the wealth of the Rong family has quadrupled to $5.3 billion, it now ranks sixth on the list. China also has more billionaires than any other country outside the U.S.
An article in the Financial Times titled "China's Billionaires Start to Multiply" points out that the rise of these new billionaires highlights the wide variety of business opportunities available throughout China. The compiler of the rich list, Rupert Hoogewerf...