China’s billionaires have shrugged off the economically crippling effects of the pandemic, creating $1.5 trillion in new wealth – more than the past five years combined.

By August 2020, China had added another 257 billionaires, according to the latest wealth report by Hurun, boosting the total to 878. Just below the billionaire bracket, the segment of those with a net worth of more than 2 billion yuan ($300 million) also rose with 2,000 individuals combined for $4 trillion.

«The world has never seen this much wealth created in just one year,» according to Hurun Report’s chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf in a statement. 

COVID Winners

Unsurprisingly, the top two spots were occupied by China’s top tech giants – Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma – who saw their wealth surge between 45 and 50 percent year-to-date in no small part due to the boost in e-commerce and gaming from ongoing lockdowns and social distancing measures.

Naturally, healthcare tycoons also climbed the ranks with Jiang Rensheng, founder of vaccine-maker Zhifei, headlining the sector by tripling his net worth to $19.9 billion.

According to Hoogewerf, the list’s composition demonstrated China’s move away from «traditional sectors like manufacturing and real estate, towards the new economy».