Portrait of the 10 richest people in Asia today

Below is a list of the 10 richest people in Asia today (as of August 23, 2023, according to the database of the American magazine Forbes). The top of the list is from India, the rest is mostly from China.

Mukesh Ambani

Mr. Mukesh Ambani’s father (India), Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani, once one of the richest people in Asia, founded Reliance Industries in 1966. Mukesh Ambani is currently the chairman and chief executive officer of a multinational company. This country, operating in many industries, including energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, textiles…

Reliance Industries’ telecommunications and broadband service provider Jio has nearly 450 million subscribers.

Since 2009, Mukesh Ambani has continuously maintained his position as one of Asia’s richest men. His fortune is currently at 98.4 billion USD (ranked 11th in the world).

Mukesh Ambani is turning Industries Reliance into a green energy corporation. It will invest $80 billion over the next 10-15 years in renewable energy and build a new complex next to its refinery.

Mukesh Ambani outlined his succession plan: His son Akash is now the president of Reliance Jio; Daughter Isha oversees financial services and retail, and youngest son Anant runs a new energy business.

Chủ tịch Reliance Mukesh Ambani cùng vợ Nita Ambani đến tham dự Quốc yến tại Nhà Trắng ở Washington DC, Mỹ vào ngày 22/6/2023. Ảnh: ANI.

Chung Shaan Shaan

Zhong Shanshan (Zhong Shanshan) is a Chinese self-made billionaire with a total net worth of 60.3 billion USD (ranked 20th in the world).

He is a major shareholder of Beijing Wantai Biopharmaceutical Company, which performs rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Mr. Chung was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the city of Hangzhou, dropped out of school (primary school) during the Cultural Revolution. He later worked as a construction worker, reporter and beverage agent before founding Nong Phu Son Tuyen (Nongfu Spring) Company, famous for bottled drinking water.

His company produces bottled water Nong Phu Son Tuyen, soluble vitamin C drinks, coffee, milk tea, soft drinks…

Chinese billionaire Chung Shaan Shaan. Photo: SCMP.

Gautam Adani

Gautam Adani from India currently has a net worth of 55.4 billion USD (ranked 23rd in the world). His company Adani has achieved great success in many different industries.

Adani is the first person of Asian descent to ever make the top 3 of the US Forbes list of the world’s richest people. With the large-scale Adani Green Power project, he has built a solid reputation in the field of sustainable development.

Gautam Adani is the chairman of the $32 billion Adani Group (revenue), with an interest in ports, airports, power generation and transmission, green energy, and more.

The Adani Group was founded in 1988, then expanded through acquisitions and with the support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In January 2023, the US firm Hindenburg Research accused Adani and his companies of financial fraud and stock market manipulation. Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.

The Adani Group is India’s largest airport operator and also controls Mundra – India’s largest port (in the boss’ home state of Gujarat).

Adani will become India’s second-largest cement producer by 2022, after acquiring the Indian assets of Swiss company Holcim for $10.5 billion.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. Photo: Business Today.

Truong Nhat Minh

Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance, one of China’s most popular and successful social media platforms, in 2012. ByteDance is the parent company of the global phenomenon TikTok.

Mr. Truong (𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 1983) became one of the youngest people in history to enter the list of Asia’s richest people. He currently has a net worth of about 45 billion USD (ranked 26th in the world).

He stepped down as chairman of ByteDance in November 2021 after stepping down as chief executive officer in May of that year, reportedly under pressure from the Chinese government. He owns 20% of ByteDance. The company is interested in many areas, from news, education to video games.

Zhang founded ByteDance in a four-bedroom apartment in Beijing and launched the news aggregator app Toutiao a few months later.

Chinese billionaire Truong Nhat Minh. Photo: Business Insider.

Ly Gia Thanh

The billionaire’s fortune in Hong Kong (China) is currently at 37.3 billion USD (ranked 32nd in the world, 1st in Hong Kong). He has donated billions of dollars to several organizations for disaster related causes around the globe.

After US billionaire Bill Gates, he owns the world’s second largest private charitable foundation. His Li Jiacheng Foundation has donated more than $3.8 billion, of which more than 80% goes to mainland China.

Nicknamed “Superman”, Ly Gia Thanh is considered one of the most influential businessmen in Asia. He stepped down as chairman of multinational conglomerates CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings in May 2018 but remains a senior advisor.

His son, Victor, now heads a group of more than 300,000 employees and operations in more than 50 countries.

Ly founded Cheung Kong Plastic Company in 1950 at the age of 21 with $6,500 in savings and loans from relatives.

Hong Kong billionaire Ly Gia Thanh. Photo: The Standard.

Tadashi Yanai and family

Japanese billionaire Tadashi Yanai is the founder of fashion brand Uniqlo; His fortune and family are currently at 34.4 billion USD (ranked 37th in the world).

Yanai built and ran the clothing retail empire Fast Retailing – the parent company of the Uniqlo chain. Other Fast Retailing brands include Theory, Helmut Lang, J Brand and GU.

The company posted a net profit of $1.2 billion on revenue of $17 billion for the fiscal year ending August 2022.

Uniqlo has more than 2,400 stores in 25 countries, including Vietnam.

Yanai wants his company to become the largest retailer in the world, which means it will have to surpass H&M and Inditex (the parent company of Zara).

Japanese billionaire Tadashi Yanai. Photo: The Mint.

Encrypted Dang

Ma Huateng is running the most successful social media messaging app in China. He is the founder and owner of Tencent Holdings and currently owns a net worth of 33.9 billion USD (ranked 39th in the world).

Ma has become one of Asia’s richest individuals since his company controls WeChat, which has more than a billion users in China alone (1.3 billion users globally).

Tencent owns shares of the American video game company Epic Games. Tencent is one of the largest video game publishers in the world.

Tencent has stakes in electric car maker Tesla and music streaming service Spotify.

Ma led the research and development of internet domain name resolution systems at telecommunications company China Motion Telecom Development before founding Tencent in 1998.

His group has considerable social and political influence in China.

Chinese billionaire Ma Hua Teng. Photo: SCMP.

Tang Ngoc Tron

Tang Ngoc Quan (Zeng Yuqun, English name is Robin Zeng) is the founder and chairman of CATL – one of the world’s most important battery and electric vehicle manufacturers, supplying batteries to famous car manufacturers such as: BMW, Volkswagen…

He was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in Hong Kong (China), obtained a doctorate in physics from the Institute of Physics – Chinese Academy of Sciences. Current net worth is 33.4 billion USD (ranked 38th in the world).

In 2023, Ford announced plans to partner with CATL to build a $3.5 billion factory in Michigan (USA) and will employ 2,500 people.

Chinese billionaire Tang Yuqun. Photo: The Standard.

Ding Lei

2003 marked the beginning of China’s most successful online and mobile game company, headed by Ding Lei (Ding Lei, English name William Ding). The owner of the company NetEase currently has a net worth of 32.3 billion USD (ranked 46th in the world).

Young game designers in China can draw creative inspiration from this Asian game industry’s richest man.

William Ding is the CEO of NetEase, one of the largest online game companies in the world. In addition to traditional titles like “Fantasy Westward,” the company’s portfolio also includes the casual game “Eggy Party,” the fighting game “Justice Mobile,” which uses AI to create story lines.

Facing stiff competition in games from rival Tencent, NetEase has expanded into movies, e-commerce and online music.

Ding was once the richest man in China and was the first internet and gaming billionaire in 2003.

The gaming mogul is also interested in sustainable agriculture, with NetEase’s e-commerce arm Yanxuan selling pork sourced from its own farm.

Chinese billionaire Ding Lei. Photo: Forbes.

Lee Shau Kee

Hong Kong (China) billionaire Lee Shau Kee not only co-founded two real estate companies Sun Hung Kai and Kwok Tak-Seng but also owns giant real estate development company Henderson Land Development.

Well aware of the importance of education, he has contributed more than 400 million USD to the cause of education development.

Billionaire Lee’s net worth is currently at 26.7 billion USD (ranked 58th in the world). He grew up in a poor family that could only eat fish or meat a maximum of twice a month.