The Era After Jack Ma: China's New Generation of Sultans Dominates the Future

A new generation of Chinese billionaires is now emerging, looking distinctly different from their predecessors. If wealth was previously born largely from the property, manufacturing, or internet sectors, young billionaires are now more likely to build businesses in artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, media, and globally-oriented consumer products. Figures like DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng have become symbols of this change after his wealth soared alongside the valuation of his AI company. Unlike the older generation, who were synonymous with close ties to officials and an extreme work culture, these young entrepreneurs tend to be more reclusive, embrace a more flexible working style, and target international markets from the start. However, they also face major challenges due to the domestic economic slowdown and the Chinese government’s increasingly tight relationship with conglomerates under the ‘common prosperity’ policy. The name Liang Wenfeng was almost unknown until early 2025, when DeepSeek shook the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Now, the DeepSeek founder is estimated to have a fortune of around US$38 billion, in line with the company’s valuation reaching US$71 billion. Liang is not the only one. China is quietly giving birth to a new generation of billionaires who are younger, more global, and far more reclusive than the tycoons of the previous generation. They build AI, gaming, coffee, milk tea, and collectible toy companies, but almost never appear in the media or on conference stages. This change indicates a larger shift than simply an increase in the number of wealthy individuals. China’s wealth-creation engine is now shifting from the property sector towards technology and consumer brands, while its business orientation is increasingly directed towards the global market. The Hurun report shows China had at least 29 self-made billionaires aged 40 or younger in 2026. If Liang Wenfeng, who will turn 41 this year, is included, the number becomes 30, an increase of nine compared to the previous year. This is the second-largest number in the world after the United States. But it is not just the numbers that are interesting; the composition of these new wealthy individuals is also changing. China’s new generation of billionaires is no longer dominated by property developers or heavy industry tycoons. The majority are building businesses based on technology, consumer brands, and entertainment industries that are closer to everyday life. The journey of billionaire creation in China reflects the changing structure of the country’s economy. In the 1980s, much wealth was born from the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. Entering the 1990s, the property market boom gave birth to tycoons like Xu Jiayin, the founder of Evergrande. The next wave came after China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the early 2000s, when the manufacturing industry grew rapidly. The 2010s then became the era of the rise of internet companies, with Jack Ma building Alibaba and Pony Ma developing Tencent. Now, the pattern has changed again. More than two-thirds of the young billionaires on the Hurun list earned their wealth from the consumer goods and media sectors. Seven built gaming companies, while four others came from the tea or coffee business. After Liang Wenfeng, the name with the largest fortune is Wang Ning, the founder of Pop Mart, the company behind the Labubu collectible dolls. Conversely, there are no longer any young billionaires from the property sector, a condition reflecting the weakening of an industry that for years was the engine of China’s economic growth. The generational change among company founders in China is not only visible in the business sectors they choose; the way they build companies is also beginning to change. For more than a decade, China’s tech industry was synonymous with the ‘996’ work culture—working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. This pattern was once popularised by Jack Ma and subsequently followed by many other tech companies. The new generation of Chinese billionaires is taking a more flexible approach. Liu Wei, a 39-year-old billionaire and co-founder of game developer miHoYo, promotes a work culture the company calls ‘happy work, steady growth’. The focus is not just on pursuing business growth, but also on maintaining employees’ mental health. A similar approach comes from Liang Wenfeng, who once said the human brain can only concentrate for about six to eight hours a day. However, this cultural shift has not completely erased old habits. Many older-generation entrepreneurs built their businesses when China was still in a phase of economic transformation, their stories synonymous with poverty and struggle. In contrast, most young billionaires grew up in far more established economic conditions.