listings, outside of China. We also talk to a lot... industry groups, especially for companies that are

I N T E RV I E W
B Y E S T H E R YO U N G
IMAGINECHINA
Who
Wants to
be a
Billionaire?
Forbes
Shanghai
Bureau
Chief Russell
Flannery
discusses
China,
ambition
and the
2011 Forbes
Billionaire’s
List.
CHINA'S NO. 1:
Robin Li of Baidu
R
ussell Flannery is the senior editor
and Shanghai bureau chief of Forbes
magazine. Now in his 10th year
at Forbes, Flannery compiles the
Forbes China Rich List, Hong Kong
Rich List, and Taiwan Rich List, and is the editorial
liaison between Forbes magazine and its Chineselanguage sister edition, Forbes China. He talks to
AmCham Shanghai about the recently released
2011 Forbes Billionaires List.
Tell us a little about the list this year - how was the
China list put together?
The list was a really interesting this year for
many reasons. For one, we had a new number
one for China – Robin Li, founder and CEO of
Baidu. We put the list together in several ways.
We interview listed companies, of which we see
more and more. When I started on this list – that
was back in 2003 – less than 20 percent of the
individuals that were on the list actually got their
wealth from a listed company, and now, it’s the
overwhelming majority. We also spend a lot of time
finding data for companies that are not listed. That
is also a good way as so many people are tracking
China now – market research, investment firms,
consultants. Another source is overseas stock
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INSIGHT
APRIL 2011
listings, outside of China. We also talk to a lot of
industry groups, especially for companies that are
getting big valuations and private equity deals.
All this information is a good thing – we print
12-15 issues of Forbes in China and we want to
be covering all of these companies on an ongoing
basis, not just once a year on a list. We want to give
readers an introduction to China. We want to be a
bridge for readers who are outside China, let them
know who’s interesting, who’s successful here, what
industries are doing well here.
Since you have this coverage about individual
companies and individuals, why a billionaire’s
list? Why put this together for China at all?
Lists simply have a human appeal. Everybody
needs a pecking order in life, in some ways, and
it’s our wealth list that gets the most attention. We
have lists for many things: dead celebrities, the
worst places to start a business. Lists are nice in
that they can boil down things that are complicated
to something that you can glance at for three or
four minutes but provide a good picture of what’s
going on.
Do you think the wealth list has gained in
relevance?
The billionaires list, I think, has become a
window into the changing global wealth and
economic landscape. On our new list, for instance,
China is number two, which is consistent with what
you see in terms of big macroeconomic numbers.
China has just surpassed Japan to become the
number two economy in the world. It’s also not
only the number of individuals on the list; it’s the
change every year that gives you some insight. For
instance, I find it very interesting that we have 55
individuals from India on the list, but we have 51
new people from China. The number of people
coming on the list from China is larger than the
entire population of billionaires from India. That
means quite a bit: India has a great economy, and
it’s on the move, but if you look at the overall
magnitude of these two places, the heft is clearly
in China.
Another interesting number on the list is 12,
which is the number of people who came onto the
list through IPOs in the Shenzhen stock exchange.
It compares to 10, which is the number of new
people on the list from the U.S. from last year,
bringing the total up to 413. The Shenzhen stock
exchange produced more billionaires for this year’s
Forbes billionaires list than the entire U.S. economy
did. You can see there is a tremendous amount of
wealth in the U.S.; with 413 billionaires compared
to China’s 115, it’s still the biggest in the world. But
when you’re looking at the flow side, where things
are happening – China’s the big story.
Let’s look at the China list – 55 new billionaires
is an impressive number. Was there something
special about these entrepreneurs? Was there
something that they had in common that may
have fueled their success?
I am lucky that I get to spend time with those
in China who are very high up there – the most
ambitious people in the world. Almost to a man, I
think these are people who are focused on building.
They are representative of an era where China as a
country wants to make a mark in the world. The
other remarkable thing I’ve noted from the people
that I’ve met is their openness to new ideas and their
interest in renewing their educational experience.
When you’re in a fast paced environment like
China, you can’t help but get caught up in this
upgrade culture – you look for things that keep you
going – and part of that is education.
Is this correlated with a growth of innovation in
China?
I’m not sure just how much innovation there
has been in China. I think that because the
domestic market is so big, the reality is that you
don’t have to be an innovator. You can be good
at distribution and make a lot of money. I think,
though, that there is definitely a structural change
going on in the economy, and the days of relying
on cheap exports are over. Everybody is cognizant
of the growing need for innovation and upgrading.
I think that many of the people that we are writing
about have the resources to pursue that and have
the smarts to pursue that. I would hazard a guess
that many of the people on our list will have quite
a bit of staying power.
The Richest in China: China’s Top 10
1. Robin Li US$9.4 billion
Age: 42
Organization: Baidu
Source: Internet, self-made
Residence: Beijing
Education: BA/BS, Peking University;
MA, University of Buffalo
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 95
2. Liang Wengen US$8 billion
Age: 54
Organization: Sany Group
Source: Manufacturing, self-made
Residence: Changsha, Hunan
Education: BA/BS, Central South
University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Global Rank: 114
3. Zong Qinghou US$5.9 billion
Age: 65
Organization: Wahaha
Source: Beverages, self-made
Residence: Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Global Rank: 169
4. Li Li & family US$5.7 billion
Age: 47
Organization: Shenzhen Hepalink
Pharmaceutical
Source: Pharmaceuticals, self-made
Residence: Shenzhen,
Guangdong
Education: BA/BS, Sichuan University
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 179
5. He Xiangjian US$5.5 billion
Age: 68
Organization: Midea Group
Source: Appliances, self-made
Residence: Foshan, Guangdong
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2
Global Rank: 185
APRIL 2011
6. Wu Yajun & family US$5.5 billion
Age: 47
Organization: Longfor Properties
Source: Real estate, self-made
Residence: Beijing
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 185
7. Hui Kayan US$5.1 billion
Age: 52
Organization: Evergrande Real Estate
Source: Real estate, self-made
Residence: Guangzhou, Guangdong
Education: BA/BS, Wuhan University;
BA/BS, Wuhan U of Science & Tec
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 200
8. Zhang Jindong US$5 billion
Age: 47
Organization: Suning Appliances
Source: Retail, self-made
Residence: Nanjing, Jiangsu
Education: BA/BS, Nanjing Normal
University
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 208
9. Ma Huateng US$5 billion
Age: 39
Organization: Tencent
Source: Internet, self-made
Residence: Shenzhen, Guangdong
Education: BA/BS, Shenzhen
University
Marital Status: Married
Global Rank: 208
10.Wang Jianlin US$4.6 billion
Age: 56
Organization: Dalian Wanda Group
Source: Real estate, self-made
Residence: Dalian, Liaoning
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Global Rank: 232
Source: Forbes Magazine – The World’s Billionaires
INSIGHT
41
“
Everybody
needs a pecking
order in life, in
some ways”
The article related to the list emphasized the
importance of technology in the rise of these
billionaires. Do you think this will be a continuing
trend?
Yes. I think that China has benefited from the
mobility of capital and the mobility of technology
and China very wisely spent a lot of money on
infrastructure to pave the way for these things to
be rolled into China. They have been responsible
for all kinds of astonishing changes – hundreds
of millions of people are online here, everyday,
and buying mobile phones. I believe that as
China’s income continues to grow, there is going
to be a lot of room for wealth creation on the
Internet. We’ll see more and more entrepreneurs
coming from that space. Already, we have some
– the number one, Robin Li. They will be highly
educated, savvy and will be surrounded by very
smart people. And they’ll be innovators in some
sense, too.
You touched on this a little already with the
rise of the Internet, but are there any particular
individuals or areas that you think are worth
watching?
Yes. I think, in the U.S., we’ve lost a lot of great
American newspapers and journalists, but I think
the media industry will reinvent itself, especially
in China. There is simply going to be a demand for
more and new ways for people to share information
and enjoy themselves. The media leaders here in
China – Robin Li of Baidu, Jack Ma of Alibaba
– they’ll be monitoring each other closely. In the
meanwhile, we have Victor Koo from Youku.
To see how all these areas will intertwine will be
fascinating to watch. I think the other area that
will do well in China is transportation, as I think
increasingly well off, intellectual, globally minded
Chinese will be travelers for many years to come.
Consumer spending and healthcare will also have
a good way to go for growth.
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Productivity: the New China Challenge
May 12, 2011 | Four Seasons Hotel, Shanghai
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42
APRIL 2011
www.AmCham-Shanghai.org/2011MBC
INSIGHT