A worker in a Nongfu Spring facility in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province in February 2020 Photo: cnsphoto

China's three richest people remain unchanged in 2022, with Nongfu Spring CEO Zhong Shanshan topping the list for the second time, followed by TikTok founder Zhang Yiming and CATL founder Zeng Yuqun, according to the China Rich List conducted by the Hurun Research Institute in association with baijiu brand Hengchang Shaofang.

Zhong, 68, topped the Hurun China Rich List for the second time with a wealth of $65 billion, up 17 percent from last year, according to the list released on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old TikTok founder Zhang Yiming's wealth fell 28 percent to $35 billion, keeping him at second place on the list. "Battery King" Zeng Yuqun, 54, also saw his wealth down 28 percent to $32.9 billion, albeit remaining in the Top 3, Hurun said.

Driven by China's rapid growth of new-energy vehicle sector, CATL has become a global leader in lithium-ion battery development and manufacturing. In September, CATL's installed power battery capacity ranked first worldwide, recording 19.9GWh of installed capacity, according to data released by global information agency SNE Research.

From January to September, CATL recorded a market share of 35.1 percent globally, SNE Research showed.

In total, Hurun Research identified 1,305 individuals whose worth exceeds 5 billion yuan ($710 million), down 11 percent from last year; with their total wealth sliding 18 percent from last year to $3.5 trillion.

Manufacturing sector led the wealth-creation, with the largest number of entrants on the list, accounting for 12.9 percent of the total, up 1.8 percent from last year, according to the list.

And, a total of 17 entrants were born in 1990s, three more than last year. 

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said in a statement that "it is worth noting that although the number of individuals has decreased so much, it is still nearly 50 percent more than five years ago, four times that of 10 years ago, and more than 400 times that of 20 years ago."

Global Times