Tycoons make hay as stock prices soar

Another day, another billion dollars. With Hong Kong stocks surging to a seven-year high, China's richest tycoons are approaching $50 billion in gains this year.

Take this week's frenzy. Tencent Holdings Ltd jumped 10 percent since Tuesday, adding $1.9 billion to Chairman Ma Huateng's net worth, valued at $20.8 billion. Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, added about $1.4 billion to his $32.6 billion wealth, thanks to his Hong Kong-listed property unit, and closing in on China's richest man, Alibaba Group Holding Inc Chairman Jack Ma.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped as much as 6.5 percent before paring gains to 3.7 percent, as mainland investors flooded into the market using the cross-border bourse link. Data compiled by Bloomberg show the top 17 Chinese billionaires gained a total of $47.3 billion this year - and that's not even counting Thursday's gains.