Battery Maker CATL’s Founder Becomes Richest in Chinese Automobile Industry

The Hurun Research Institute released the firm’s “2022 Hurun Global Rich List” on Thursday. Among the top 500, 16 people (including two couples) involved in China’s automobile industry made the list.

CATL founder Zeng Yuqun’s wealth reached 335 billion yuan ($53 billion), ranking 24th in the world and first in China’s automobile industry. Huang Shilin, Vice Chairman of CATL, ranked 63rd in the world with wealth of 150 billion yuan and 2nd in China’s automobile industry. In addition, Li Ping, another Vice Chairman of CATL, ranked 213th in the world with a wealth of 70 billion yuan, up 186 places.

Liu Jincheng and his wife from EVE Energy Co., Ltd., a lithium battery maker, ranked 168th in the world with a wealth of 82 billion yuan, rising by 35 places. It seems that the development of the battery industry in the past year has played a great role in the growth of their personal wealth.

In terms of traditional car companies, Li Shufu, chairman of Geely, ranked 63rd in the world with a personal wealth of 150 billion yuan, decreasing by 25 billion yuan compared with that of last year. Wei Jianjun and his wife from Great Wall Motors ranked 67th in the world with a personal wealth worth 145 billion yuan, decreasing by 73 billion yuan compared with that of last year.

Wang Chuanfu, founder of automaker BYD, saw his wealth drop to 140 billion yuan, ranking 63rd this year, which is inseparable from BYD’s strong performance in the new energy vehicle industry last year.

SEE ALSO: Huawei, CATL and Changan Automobile to Mass Produce AVATR 11

The heads of EV startups NIO, XPeng and Li Auto have all entered the list. XPeng‘s founder He Xiaopeng ranked 213th with a wealth of 70 billion yuan, down one place from last year. Li Xiang, founder of Li Auto, saw an increase of 7.5 billion yuan in his wealth, ranking 403rd. Unfortunately, NIO‘s founder Li Bin’s ranking decreased by 342 places to 582nd with a wealth of 35.5 billion yuan.