Five of Asia’s wealthiest billionaires have experienced a 19% rise in their total fortune this year, reaching $376 billion, primarily due to the rising assets of Chinese individuals.

Even though the import tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump earlier this year raised worries for stock market investors, several Asian markets have seen growth over the past few months due to nations successfully negotiating better trade agreements with the United States.

For instance, China’s stock market hit a 10-year peak this month.

Here is a list of the five wealthiest individuals from Asia along with updates on their net worth, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

1. Mukesh Ambani

Ratan Tata, an esteemed Indian businessman, was honored with final respects from Mukesh Ambani, the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Industries, as he arrived at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) before his cremation in Mumbai on October 10, 2024. Image courtesy of AFP.

Mukesh Ambani, who serves as chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, continues to be Asia’s wealthiest individual, boasting a fortune of $102 billion as of early Friday.

This year, the 68-year-old’s fortune has increased by 11.7%, driven by a 16% rise in the stock price of Reliance Industries, where he owns over 40%.

According to records, his father, Dhirubhai Ambani, founded Reliance Industries in 1958 as a modest business dealing in spices and polyester thread.
Forbes
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Mukesh was born on April 19, 1957, and started working with the company at the age of 24, first managing a yarn production initiative.

Today,
Reliance has expanded
converted into energy, petrochemicals, retail, and telecommunication sectors, having a combined market value of INR20.7 trillion ($237 billion).

In June, Reliance divested the majority of its stake in Asian Paints valued at approximately $895 billion due to increased market rivalry and falling consumer demand.

2. Gautam Adani

Prominent Indian businessman and head of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, was present at the 51st Gem and Jewelry Awards held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on November 30, 2024. Image courtesy of NurPhoto through AFP.

Gautam Adani, the head of the major logistics and energy company Adani Group, has witnessed an increase of 2.4% in his wealth this year.

At 63 years old, his company Adani Ports and SEZ stands as India’s leading privately owned port operator, overseeing approximately one-fourth of the country’s freight traffic across more than 10 terminals.

Adani Power ranks among the top electricity generators in the nation.

Each company has experienced a 10% and 13% increase in share prices so far this year.

Adani started out as a gemstone merchant
In Mumbai during 1978, prior to establishing Adani Enterprises—the main company of the Adani Group—in 1988.

In February 2022, he temporarily ranked as Asia’s wealthiest individual, surpassing Mukesh Ambani.

Last month, he revealed intentions to make an investment
up to $10 billion
In Vietnam, emphasis is placed on infrastructure, power generation, clean energy sources, and cutting-edge innovations such as artificial intelligence.

3. Zhong Shanshan

Zhang Shanlan, CEO of Nongfu Spring Company Limited, participated in the Eco-Forum Guiyang held in Guiyang City, located in Guizhou Province in Southwest China, on July 28, 2012. Image courtesy of ImagineChina through AFP.

Third place goes to Zhong Shanshan, the founder and chairperson of the drink company Nongfu Spring, who has a net worth of $68.5 billion, representing a 25% rise from the start of the year.

A 70-year-old individual has gained from a 40% rise in Nongfu Spring stock, according to industry experts who believe this increase is partially fueled by the
legal issues encountered by its primary rival Wahaha.

Nongfu Spring achieved revenue of 42.9 billion Chinese yuan ($6 billion) during the previous year, placing it among the leading global drink manufacturers, surpassing giants like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Watsons as a top-selling bottled beverage brand.

Zhong is also the primary owner of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, a company that produces vaccines and hepatitis testing kits, which reported revenue of $306 million last year.

4. Ma Huateng

Pony Ma Huateng, chairman and chief executive officer of Tencent Holdings Limited, participates in the Tencent 2018 annual earnings announcement held in Hong Kong, China, on March 21, 2019. Image courtesy of Imaginechina through AFP.

Jack Ma, co-founder and chairman of the technology company Alibaba, has an estimated wealth of $64.3 billion, representing a 34% increase this year.

A 53-year-old individual has seen a 44% increase in their Tencent stock holdings this year, fueled by a 15% rise in quarterly earnings, driven by robust results from the company’s gaming division and advancements in artificial intelligence initiatives.

Known as “Pony”
(as Ma means “horse” in Chinese), Ma has been influential in China’s political system as he previously served as a deputy to the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress and a delegate in the 12th National People’s Congress.

Tencent operates WeChat, the leading instant messaging service in China. In May, the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek acknowledged Tencent for offering a technological fix to an ongoing system problem.

5. Zhang Yiming

ByteDance’s founder Zhang Yiming attends the inauguration event for the Fourth World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen Town, Tongxiang City, Jiaxing City, located in eastern Zhejiang Province, on December 3, 2017. Image courtesy of ImagineChina through AFP.

Fifth on the list is Zhang Yiming, aged 41, co-founder of ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, who experienced the highest increase in net worth among billionaires, rising by 36% to reach $59.6 billion.

In 2012, he established a firm based in Beijing, known for running the news aggregation platform Toutiao and Douyin (which is called TikTok in Mainland China and Hong Kong).

TikTok’s soaring popularity
has greatly increased his fortune, positioning him as China’s wealthiest individual in 2024.

Even though he left his position as CEO of ByteDance in May 2021, he still holds more than half of the firm’s voting power.