Fosun chairman heads new rich list

Guo Guangchang, chairman of Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, is the richest Chinese investor with a personal fortune of US$4.5 billion, according to a new Hurun rich list yesterday.

Guo tops the inaugural Hurun Midas Rich List of China 2015, a ranking of Chinese investors with US$50 million of personal wealth or more.

Following Guo in second place is Chen Tianqiao, CEO of US-listed online game developer Shanda Games Ltd with US$2.7 billion. Zhang Lei, founder of Asia's biggest hedge fund Hillhouse Capital Management is third with US$2.4 billion.

The Midas Rich List includes 87 Chinese investors with a total wealth of US$36.5 billion and an average age of 49, with 60 percent educated overseas, said Hurun Research Institute, a Shanghai-based firm known for its annual China Rich List.

Twelve of the individuals are women.

Fosun, who bought Club Med SA for US$1.3 billion last week, has been investing in fashion, property and filmmaking. Fosun last year sealed 10 deals, including buying US property casualty insurer Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc for US$433 million and taking 80 percent of the insurance unit of Portugal's Caixa Geral de Depositos SA.