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Huawei
TechTech leaders and founders

Huawei sanctions shrink founder Ren Zhengfei’s wealth while Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun’s net worth doubles

  • Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is now worth US$2.8 billion, 10 per cent less than last year, based on the latest Hurun China Rich List
  • Meanwhile, other smartphone billionaires such as the founders of Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have seen their fortunes grow on the back of 5G opportunities

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Huawei’s 76-year-old founder Ren Zhengfei saw his wealth shrink 10 per cent in the past year due to US sanctions, according to the latest Hurun China Rich List. Photo: Kyodo
Celia Chenin Shenzhen
US sanctions on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies have eaten into founder Ren Zhengfei’s personal wealth, even as opportunities in 5G boost the fortunes of other smartphone billionaires in the country, according to the latest Hurun China Rich List.

The 76-year-old Huawei founder saw his wealth shrink 10 per cent in the past year to 19 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion), Hurun said in a report published on Tuesday morning. Ren’s position on the list – which ranks the richest individuals in China with wealth of at least 2 billion yuan – fell more than a hundred places from 162nd last year to 277th this year.

Meanwhile, opportunities in 5G have elevated the net worth of other Chinese billionaires involved in the smartphone business, according to the Hurun report. These include Xiaomi founder Lei Jun – whose wealth more than doubled from 75 billion yuan to 170 billion yuan in the past year – as well as the founders of Vivo and Oppo, Shen Wei and Chen Mingyong, who are now worth 18 million yuan and 17.5 million yuan respectively, Hurun said.
Xiaomi's founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun speaks with journalists as he leaves a meeting one day ahead of the opening session of China's National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 4, 2019. Photo: AP
Xiaomi's founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun speaks with journalists as he leaves a meeting one day ahead of the opening session of China's National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 4, 2019. Photo: AP

A total of 2,303 billionaires made the rich list, which uses public databases as well as interviews with industry experts, government officials and other sources to value the wealth of China’s richest. For non-listed companies like Huawei, Hurun said it uses a comparison with listed equivalents using prevailing industry price/earnings ratios.

In all, Hurun estimated that those on the list added US$1.5 trillion to their collective nest eggs in the past year, and now own a combined fortune of US$4 trillion – more than the gross domestic product of Germany, the world’s fourth-biggest economy. The latest list is based on Hurun’s calculations as of August 28.

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