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Sany founder also tops Forbes 2011 rich list

LIANG Wengen, founder and chairman of construction equipment maker Sany Heavy Industry, topped 2011 Forbes China Rich List today with a personal fortune of 59.5 billion yuan (US$ 9.3 billion) – one day after he was given the same title by the Hurun Research Institute.

Hurun however placed his wealth at 70 billion yuan yesterday.

Liang, 54, took over the top spot from Zong Qinghou of drink maker Wahaha, who slid into the fifth place this year with wealth valued at 41.6 billion yuan. Robin Li of web search engine Baidu occupies the second place with 58.8 billion yuan, although he sits at third position on the 2011 Hurun China Rich List.

Liu Yongxing of feed manufacturer East Hope Group ranks third on Forbes' list and seventh on Hurun's, followed by his younger brother Liu Yonghao of New Hope Group in fourth, who didn't make Hurun's top 10 yesterday.

In response to the differences in ranking and wealth, Zhou Jiangong, the editor-in-chief of Forbes China said the magazine compiled the list in a completely independent way, and invested millions of yuan each year into their investigation.

Forbes' calculation is based on the stock and currency prices on August 19, 2011, while Hurun's is a snapshot of August 15.

Forbes recorded 146 US dollar billionaires out of a total number of 400 listed individuals on the Chinese mainland this year, as opposed to 128 last year and 79 in 2009.

The net worth of the 400 richest individuals notched up to US$ 459 billion, up 8 percent from US$ 423.2 billion last year while 4 percent if counted in yuan, much lower than China's targeted GDP growth of 8 percent.

"We have seen a huge deceleration in their wealth growth compared with last year," said Russell Flannery, Shanghai bureau chief of Forbes Global.

The tightening monetary policies, coupled with the price spikes in materials, the yuan appreciation and the volatile financial markets, have made the business environment more challenging for the private companies, he added.

Twelve women billionaires have made the list, including eight under 40 years of age. Yang Huiyan, 29, of property developer Country Garden is the youngest among the total 400.

Besides Liang, another six people from Sany have hit Forbes' list, including three billionaires in the top 100, making the company the biggest home to wealthy persons on the list amid a nationwide construction boom.

Beijing is the billionaires' top choice of residence, holding 25, followed by Shenzhen and Hong Kong, each with 13, and Shanghai with 11.



 

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