China’s Elite Capitalize On Ag
18 March 2009 China’s richest mainland mogul doubled his fortune last year on the earnings of his feed agriculture business. Liu Yongxing, president of East Hope Group, is worth US$3 billion, China Daily reported March 13.
Yongxing was first on the list in 2001 but was surpassed by real-estate and finance tycoons in the past several years. Forbes ranked him as the 652nd richest person in the world last year; he is 205th this year.
Yongxing goes against the global trend of diminishing net worth among the world’s wealthiest individuals, many of whom incurred deep losses as a result of falling stock markets and real-estate values. He also bucks the trend in China. Forbes found 71 billionaires in China last year versus 52 this year, indicating that agriculture in the country is at least partly insulated from recession and a possible growth area for agrochemical companies.
China’s fourth-wealthiest mainlander is also head of an agriculture company. Liu Yonghao of the New Hope Group is the 261st wealthiest person in the world with $2.5 billion. Forbes ranked him at 428 last year.
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