The Relationship Science team regularly increases our database’s coverage, including adding fresh, up-to-date coverage of major decision makers all over the world. This month, we completed a project to update and add profiles for the Forbes’ 2017 list of Asian billionaires. Over 700 of the world’s 2000+ billionaires are located in Asia, and the Asia-Pacific is the region with the most billionaires in the world. 2017 represented the largest increase of Asian billionaires to Forbes’ list in over 30 years. Most individuals new to the list hail from China.
The Richest Asian Billionaires
When we initially profiled the 2017 billionaires list, the richest person in Asia was Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, who had a net worth of $28.3B. But in the world of the global wealthiest, things change fast! The richest person in Asia is now Tencent’s CEO Ma Huateng (also known as “Pony Ma”). Ma is ranked in the 15th spot on the world’s list of billionaires as of June 4th. According to Forbes’ real-time rank updates, his net worth currently hovers around $45B, depending on recent trading. Jack Ma, currently the second-richest person in Asia, now holds the #17 spot. His net worth is around $43B.
Although Pony Ma and Jack Ma aren’t related, Pony Ma once referred to the two as “younger brothers” to Chinese tech giants Sina, Sohu, and Netease. In recent years, however, the two have built up vast internet conglomerates that challenge the dominance of Amazon, run by Forbes #1 billionaire Jeff Bezos. RelSci’s Path Finder tool illuminates connections between these three e-commerce titans.
How Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and Jeff Bezos Connect
RelSci highlights 63 prominent mutual acquaintances of Pony Ma and Jack Ma, including Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba and #128 on the Forbes List. Joseph knows Pony Ma through a mutual affiliation with the Yale Center Beijing.
Jack Ma and Jeff Bezos, for their part, share connections with influential private equity investors like Peter Grauer, David Rubenstein, and former Vice President Al Gore.
Jeff Bezos and Pony Ma, too, have a good number of overlapping acquaintances. These include Jessica H. Owens of Grail, Inc, in which both Bezos’s Amazon and Ma’s Tencent Holdings have invested.
Learn More About Asian Billionaires with RelSci
Interested in learning more about Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and Asia’s wealthiest entrepreneurs? Want to check the donation history of major e-commerce leaders, or follow the latest news on real estate moguls? A premium subscription to RelSci offers all that and more. RelSci includes in-depth profiles of over 8 million influential decision makers, including all of the Forbes Billionaires. Subscribers can map relationships between these individuals, identify common connection points, or unlock contact data to reach out directly. Start your free trial now, or request a demo for your organization!