(Yicai) Oct. 28 -- Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance Technology, has reclaimed the title of China’s richest person for the second time, with his fortune reaching a record CNY670 billion (USD100.5 billion) as rapid advances in artificial intelligence drive up the valuation of the Chinese technology giant, according to the Hurun China Rich List 2026 released by the Hurun Research Institute yesterday.

Zhang’s fortune surged 42.6 percent over the past year to CNY670 billion, largely thanks to the 43-year-old's holdings in ByteDance. The Beijing-based firm has become one of the world’s most valuable technology companies through Douyin, TikTok and its AI assistant Doubao.

Progress in ByteDance’s AI businesses has boosted the valuation of the firm, in which Zhang holds a more-than-20-percent stake, to CNY3.3 trillion (USD495 billion), said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief research officer of the Hurun Report.

Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water producer Nongfu Spring, tumbled to second place after the 72-year-old‘s wealth slumped 22.6 percent to CNY410 billion (USD61.5 billion). A pullback in the share price of Wantai Biological Pharmacy, another company he owns, weighed on his overall wealth. Despite the drop from last year, his fortune remains 20 percent higher than it was two years ago.

Zhang recorded the largest increase in wealth among those on this year’s list, adding CNY200 billion (USD30 billion) compared with last year. Chen Jianghua and Fan Hongwei, the husband-and-wife team behind Hengli Group, ranked second in terms of wealth gains, with their combined fortune increasing by CNY112 billion.

A total of 1,529 entrepreneurs with personal wealth of over CNY5 billion (USD750 million) made this year’s Hurun China Rich List, a gain of 6.6 percent from last year and a new record. Their combined wealth jumped 7 percent, or CNY2.1 trillion, from the previous year to CNY32 trillion (USD4.8 trillion).

The number of entrepreneurs with wealth topping CNY100 billion (USD15 billion) increased by two to 43, while the number with wealth exceeding over CNY10 billion increased by 69 to 819.

The 10 entrepreneurs who recorded the largest wealth gains this year accounted for more than half of the total CNY2.1 trillion (USD315 billion) increase in wealth across the entire list, Hoogewerf said. Much of this growth came from the AI and semiconductor sectors.

AI has become the largest driver of wealth creation among those featured on the list. More than 160 entrepreneurs on the ranking have fortunes linked to the AI sector, meaning that around one in every 10 individuals on the list has accumulated wealth through AI-related businesses.

One of the most notable developments this year, Hoogewerf said, was the surge in the wealth of Chen and his wife Fan from Hengli. Their combined wealth almost tripled to CNY302 billion (USD45.3 billion) from CNY112 billion, propelling them into the top 10 for the first time. They ranked sixth overall.

Chen initially built his business in the textile and chemical industries before entering shipbuilding four years ago. Supported by orders for ultra large oil tankers, Suzhou-based Hengli quickly gained a foothold in the global shipbuilding market.

After going public through a backdoor listing, the firm benefited from a large number of orders and revenue growth. Its market capitalization at one point exceeded CNY200 billion (USD30 billion), making it a prominent player in China’s high-end equipment manufacturing sector, Hoogewerf said.

This year marks the 28th consecutive year that the Hurun Research Institute has published the Hurun China Rich List since its launch in 1999. Wealth calculations are based on holdings and valuations as of Sept. 1, 2026.

Editor: Kim Taylor