Tech and AI leaders expand China’s 2026 rich list as DeepSeek founder makes debut

The number of mega-wealthy people in China reached an all-time high this year, with tech tycoons including the founder of DeepSeek joining a closely watched rich list as the country expands its AI reach.

The number of people worth more than 5 billion yuan ($750 million) rose to a record 1,529, according to the annual Hurun China Rich List released Tuesday, dwarfing the previous high of 1,460 in 2021.

Liang Wenfeng, the founder of AI startup DeepSeek, made his debut at number seven with an estimated fortune of $41.7 billion — one of 263 newcomers largely from sectors including semiconductors, AI and robotics.

His wealth was pumped up by DeepSeek’s industry-shaking R1 reasoning model released last year, triggering a sell-off in US tech stocks.

This year’s roster reflected China’s “two-speed economy”, which has seen tech fortunes surge as traditional wealth declines, said Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher at the Hurun Research Institute, which publishes the list.

Of the top 100, 60 percent made their fortunes in sectors targeted by China as part of a plan launched in 2015 to develop technological leadership within 10 years.

“This was the year ‘Made in China 2025’ came home,” Hoogewerf said in a news release.

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, China’s richest man in 2024, reclaimed the top spot with an estimated fortune of $99.7 billion — a record for the list.

He overtook Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan, known as the “Bottled Water King”.

ByteDance, which includes TikTok and Douyin, has faced growing regulatory pressure worldwide but its AI chatbot Doubao had nearly 420 million monthly active users — far ahead of domestic rivals.

CATL founder Robin Zeng, Tencent’s Pony Ma, NetEase’s William Ding and Cambricon’s Chen Tianshi also made the top 10.

DeepSeek is reportedly close to completing a new funding round worth 100 billion yuan — a record for China’s AI industry — which would value the company at around 500 billion yuan.

Hurun’s list of China’s richest women, which was released on Wednesday, saw Zhou Qunfang, founder of touchscreen maker Lens Technology, retain her top position, with a $18.9 billion fortune.

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