BEIJING, Oct 28 — The number of mega-wealthy people in China reached an all-time high this year, with tech tycoons including the founder of DeepSeek joining a closely watched rich list as the country expands its AI reach.
The number of people worth more than 5 billion yuan (RM3.06 billion) rose to a record 1,529, according to the annual Hurun China Rich List released Tuesday, dwarfing the previous high of 1,460 in 2021.
Liang Wenfeng, the founder of AI startup DeepSeek, made his debut at number seven with an estimated fortune of US$41.7 billion — one of 263 newcomers largely from sectors including semiconductors, AI and robotics.
His wealth was pumped up by DeepSeek’s industry-shaking R1 reasoning model released last year, triggering a sell-off in US tech stocks.
