Why is Hurun China Rich List so different from Forbes'?

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Why is Hurun China Rich List so different from Forbes'?

(People's Daily Online) 10:42, October 22, 2013

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Wang Jianlin, chairman of the board of Dalian Wanda Group, ranks top on both the Hurun and the Forbes China Rich Lists of 2013. (File Photo)

Billionaires are always in the public spotlight. Every year several authoritative organizations issue rankings on China’s wealthiest people. Although these rich lists are calculated during the same period, different figures may appear in the rankings made by different organizations, which leads to considerable confusion.

The Forbes 2013 list of China's richest issued on Oct. 16 shows that Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, rose to the top spot with a fortune of 86 billion yuan (14.1 billion U.S. Dollars). Chinese beverage tycoon Zong Qinghou, the CEO of Wahaha Co., Ltd., dropped from the top of the list to the number two spot this year with a total fortune of 68.3 billion yuan (11.1 billion U.S. dollars). Third on the list was Li Yanhong, CEO of Baidu, China's largest search engine.

Li Hejun, board chairman of Hanergy Group, with a total fortune of 66.5 billion yuan (11 billion U.S. dollars) ranks fourth on the Forbes list. Ma Huateng, CEO of Tencent, with a total fortune of 62.2 billion yuan (10.2 billion U.S. dollars) ranks fifth. Wei Jianjun, CEO of Great Wall Motor Company Limited, with a total fortune of 54.9 billion yuan (9 billion U.S. dollars) ranks sixth. Yang Huiyan, vice chairperson of real estate company Country Garden, with a total fortune of 43.9 billion yuan (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) ranks seventh. Ma Yun, CEO of E-commerce giant Alibaba Group, with a total fortune of 43.3 billion yuan (7.1 billion U.S. dollar) ranks eighth. He Xiangjian, founder of Midea Group, with a total fortune of 41.5 billion yuan (6.8 billion U.S. dollar) ranks ninth. Liu Yongxing, chairman of East Hope Group, with a total fortune of 37.2 billion yuan (6.1 billion U.S. dollar) ranks tenth.

In the Hurun China Rich List 2013 issued in September, the real estate developer Wang Jianlin also appears at the top of the list, but with a total fortune of 135 billion yuan (22.2 billion U.S. dollars). Zong Qinghou, with a total fortune of 115 billion yuan (18.9 billion U.S. dollars) ranks second. Although these two entrepreneurs have the same rankings in these two rich lists, there is a considerable difference in the estimated value of their fortunes.

Li Yanhong, who ranks third on the Forbes list with a total fortune of 67.7 billion yuan (11.28 billion U.S. Dollars) ranks only sixth on the Hurun list, according to which his fortune is 50 billion yuan (8.3 billion U.S. Dollars).

Hurun's top ten are Wang Jianlin, Zong Qinghou, Ma Huateng, Wei Jianjun, Yang Huiyan’s family, Li Yanhong, Yan Bin, Xu Rongmao’s family, Zhang Jindong, Jiang Bin’s family and Xu Jiayin. This is very different from the top ten on the Forbes list. Although Wang Jianlin, Zong Qinghou, Li Yanhong, Ma Huateng, Wei Jianjun and Yang Huiyan appear on both lists, their rankings are very different between the two.

Rupert Hoogewerf, the founder of the Hurun Rich List, says that the fortunes of these billionaires are calculated through public available data from the listed companies issued before the deadline of August 15, 2013. The Hurun Rich List has nothing to do with the Forbes Rich List.

The person in charge of Forbes' Chinese edition says that the billionaires’ fortunes are calculated according to their and their family’s financial information and shareholdings before the deadline of September 26, 2013. The wealth of unlisted companies is estimated by comparing them with similar listed firms.

Some analysts believe that there is little value in trying to assess the real wealth of a billionaire based on peripheral statistics. The astronomical figures on the two lists are of recreational rather than reference value.

Edited and Translated by Yao Chun, People's Daily Online

Read the Chinese version: 中国富豪榜“打架”：十大富豪近半不同, source: People's Daily Online