Appliance tycoon tops wealth list

SHANGHAI: The fortunes of China's richest billionaires are shrinking rapidly as hard times hit the country's stock and property markets, according to a list released yesterday.

Appliance and property tycoon Huang Guangyu, a 39-year-old entrepreneur with assets estimated at 43 billion yuan ($6.3 billion), tops the list of China's 1,000 wealthiest individuals compiled by Shanghai-based analyst Rupert Hoogewerf.

Huang, who controls appliance chain Gome and had topped the list in years past but ranked fourth last year, displaced Yang Huiyan, who last year led the list with a fortune estimated at 130 billion yuan ($19 billion).