New dawn for China’s tech billionaires?

According to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Pony Ma, co-founder of Tencent Holdings, is once again China’s richest person, now with a net worth of more than A$65 billion (US$44.3 billion), placing him 27th globally.

Close behind him in the rankings are bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, and Zhang Yiming, the main co-founder of tech giant ByteDance, which owns TikTok.

Only a few years ago, China’s ruling Communist Party launched a crackdown on billionaires and other business leaders. Some were publicly jailed. Others simply disappeared from public view.

Ma’s resurgence might seem like a positive signal of a more permissive market environment. But as we watch China’s private sector grow, we should remember it follows China’s unique playbook.

Ascent of Tencent

Ma’s wealth primarily comes from his stake in Tencent, which he co-founded in 1998 with its headquarters in Shenzhen. As China’s economy grew, Tencent became a world-leading internet and technology company.

Tencent is well-known for QQ and WeChat, which quickly became two of the most popular instant messaging apps in China and connect more than a billion people.

Tencent is also the largest video game vendor in China, with popular games such as “Honour of Kings” and “League of Legends.”

Last month, Tencent released “Black Myth: Wukong”, China’s first-ever “AAA” video game. AAA is a globally recognized gaming industry buzzword that refers to major, high-budget, standalone productions.

The much-hyped game surpassed 10 million sales across platforms within three days of its release, becoming one of China’s most successful games of all time.

The game itself draws on a 16th-century Chinese novel called “Journey to the West” and features various Chinese