Eager to break news, you are always on the lookout for the next big story.

Author | Xue Xingxing

Editor | Jiang Jiao

Cover | Screenshot from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"

Lei Jun, an internet celebrity entrepreneur who has dominated trending searches for a year, was today (February 27th) crowned China's richest man by the media. This accolade, however, lacked rigorous calculation or professional institutional backing.

Based solely on rough estimates, including the valuation of unlisted companies, Lei Jun's wealth was inflated to 440 billion yuan, catapulting him ahead of Zhong Shanshan, Ma Huateng, and Huang Zheng.

Yet, this seemingly had no impact on the public's warm reception of China's newest richest man. Social media was inundated with praise for Lei Jun, ranging from "a multi-billionaire president opening the car door for me" to "my buddy becoming the richest man." Even Wuhan, Lei Jun's hometown, swiftly shared related news under the title "Lei Jun, the New Richest Man" – a post that was later deleted.

Lei Jun was engrossed in preparations for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra conference. He tweeted in the morning, expressing his excitement. Little did he know that he would soon be dubbed the newest richest man by the media. A screenshot circulating online showed someone congratulating Lei Jun in a group chat, to which he replied with an expression of mixed emotions, stating, "That's fake news."

Lei Jun remains grounded. The Chinese proverb states that when the moon is full, it begins to wane, and when the water is full, it overflows. Lei Jun, known for his humility, is well-versed in this wisdom. Over the past year, Xiaomi's stock price has surged by nearly 300%, climbing from HK$13.48 at the end of February last year to the current HK$53.1, with a market value once exceeding HK$1.4 trillion.

Shortly after Xiaomi Group's stock price rose by more than 4% in the morning session today, it plummeted by over 7% in the afternoon. Even by the initial flawed statistical standards, Lei Jun was no longer the "richest man." He did not publicly address this matter on Weibo but retweeted a post about Xiaomi Automobile at noon, urging followers to "pay attention to Xiaomi Automobile."

The last individual to be hailed as China's newest richest man was Huang Zheng. In August last year, due to the soaring stock price of Pinduoduo, Huang Zheng reclaimed the title of richest man after a three-year hiatus.

However, he swiftly "relinquished" this title. During Pinduoduo's third-quarter earnings call at the end of the month, the management team employed a series of pessimistic statements, successfully deterring a group of enthusiastic investors. This led to a nearly 30% drop in Pinduoduo's stock price in a single day, marking the largest single-day decline in two years.

Since Zhong Shanshan first became China's richest man in 2020, the over-70-year-old has steadfastly held onto this title, with the media dubbing it a "four-year consecutive ranking." Prior to him, the last individual to hold onto the title of China's richest man for many years was Jack Ma. Earlier, the more prominent richest man was Wang Jianlin, who famously proclaimed "a small goal." Another renowned real estate tycoon has notably vanished from the media spotlight.

While everyone aspires to be on the list of the richest people, it may merely be the wishful thinking of netizens. Rupert Hoogewerf, a British man passionate about compiling various Chinese rich lists, revealed that when he first created the Hurun Rich List, he encountered resistance from many entrepreneurs who were reluctant to be included.

The rich list is a unique product of the market economy era. The fluctuating presence of the rich on this list often signifies the trends of an era. The earliest entrants often hailed from traditional industries such as real estate, retail, and energy. With the advent of the new century, an increasing number of individuals from the technology sector have appeared on this list.

China's youngest tycoons frequently emerge from this sector, with Ding Lei setting a precedent in 2003. At the age of 32, he topped both the Forbes and Hurun lists that year. The individual who later became the richest man from scratch more swiftly was Huang Zheng, who probably achieved this feat in just four years. Huang Zheng resigned as CEO in 2021 and has since remained out of the public eye.

"Becoming the richest man has deprived me of freedom," Zhong Shanshan lamented to the media earlier last year, following prolonged online scrutiny. He expressed his desire for personal space. Although it has become a joke, Jack Ma's earlier statement, "I'm not interested in money," may have reflected his genuine sentiments at the time.

Lei Jun, whose public profile has soared over the past year, may understand this truth more profoundly. He has repeatedly refuted rumors about his "cold 4 billion," but to no avail.

Another widely misinterpreted quote of his is "pigs on the cusp of a trend." Over the past decade, the media has tirelessly cited this sentence to emphasize the power of trends in creating success stories. However, Lei Jun has consistently emphasized that this sentence is a significant misunderstanding of him and Xiaomi. He clarified that the subject of this sentence is pigs, not trends, and the original intent was to advocate for humility and hard work when entering a new field. Yet, his explanations have gone largely unnoticed.

Just moments ago at the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra conference, before Lei Jun took the stage, someone still shouted, "China's new richest man!" "Hello, richest man!"

Eager to break news, you are always on the lookout for the next big story.

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