Cai Haoyu, 37, the wealthiest of the trio, is the CEO and biggest individual shareholder of privately held miHoYo, which has an estimated value of $20 billion.
He is among the youngest newcomers to the list, ranking 43th with a net worth of US$7.3 billion. Cai was formerly the company’s chairman before resigning late last year to focus on its deep tech ventures.
Liu Wei, 37, miHoYo’s current president, ranks 86th with a net worth of $4.4 billion. Meanwhile, the third co-founder and the firm’s vice president, Luo Yuhao, 35, holds the 90th spot with a $4.3 billion fortune.
Founded in 2012 with an initial investment of just 100,000 yuan (US$14,750), miHoYo has grown into one of China’s leading gaming companies, according to the South China Morning Post.
It generates income from sales on Google Play and the Apple App Store, desktop versions of its games, purchases on Android platforms, and a range of merchandise including figurines, apparel and toys.
Its top-grossing title, Genshin Impact, became an instant success upon its 2020 release, generating $2 billion in sales within its first year.
As of October, it ranks as the 13th highest-earning mobile game worldwide, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
The firm launched another global hit in April 2023, Honkai: Star Rail, which won multiple major awards by the end of that year, including Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year, Google Play’s Best Game of 2023, and Best Mobile Game from The Game Awards.
It earned $1 billion in revenues on mobile and PC within its first four months, based on data from gaming research firm Naavik.
Other new entrants to the ranking include toy magnate Wang Ning, the 37-year-old founder and CEO of mystery blind box seller Pop Mart, and Zong Fuli, 42, who took over her late father Zong Qinghou’s beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
The combined wealth of China’s 100 richest individuals reached $1 trillion this year, a 15% increase from 2023, while the minimum net worth needed to enter the list rose to $3.9 billion from $3.4 billion.
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