Good
to see this year's China Rich List is tinged with green. The richest
person in China is a woman, Zhang Ying, who made her estimated personal
fortune of $3.4bn from recycling paper. While in fifth place is Shi
Zhengrong, boss of solar panel parts maker Suntech Power, who has amassed $1.95bn.
Zhang personally controls 72% of Nine Dragons Paper, which listed in Hong Kong in March -- the listing increased her "paper" wealth overnight. Its business is hardly hi-tech and consists of recycling scrap paper purchased in the US and processed in China for the thriving retail sector.
Dr Shi is a scientist who founded US-listed Suntech in 2001 after working for many years in photovoltaic research.
Other members of the Rich List's top ten made their fortune from more traditional businesses. Huang Guangyu, founder of electronics retailer Gome, is ranked second with $2.5bn, while Larry Yung, head of conglomerate Citic Pacific, was sixth.
One of the biggest losers was Chen Tianqiao, chairman of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, who dropped to 24th from third spot. His paper wealth slumped when Nasdaq-listed Shanda said it would offer some online games free.
China's 500 richest people have a combined fortune of 138bn dollars and are each worth, on average, 276m dollars, a rise of nearly 50% on last year according to the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, which compiles the list.
More on the Rich List in this Bloomberg story.
