In the Bloomberg ranking

Temu founder Colin Huang now richest Chinese man

Bloomberg estimates the wealth of Temu founder Colin Huang at 48.6 billion dollars - making him the richest Chinese.(Bild: AFP/APA/CNS/STR)

Colin Huang has become the richest man in China, thanks in part to the globally successful bargain app Temu. The news agency "Bloomberg" published its new billionaire ranking on Friday.

According to the ranking, 44-year-old Huang has a fortune of 48.6 billion dollars (44.5 billion euros), putting him in first place. He founded the holding company PDD, parent company of the Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo and Temu, responsible for foreign markets.

Extreme bargains, questionable quality
Temu attracts customers with extreme bargains. However, the online retailer is also repeatedly criticized for poor quality, shipments that are not received and, last but not least, the catastrophic climate and environmental footprint of its products. Consumer advocates criticize that the online marketplace is "full of manipulative techniques aimed at getting consumers to spend more on the platform".

Former employee of Google in China
Founder Huang, an ex-employee of Google in China, is the 25th richest person in the world with a fortune in the billions, according to Bloomberg. He founded Pinduoduo in 2015. Temu followed in the USA in 2022, followed by the European and Latin American markets. In Europe, Temu claims to have around 75 million active users per month.

In second place in the rich ranking for China is "mineral water king" Zhong Shanshan with his bottling company Nongfu Spring, who had been at the top of the ranking since 2021. Number three on the Bloomberg list is Ma Huateng, head of the internet company Tencent, followed by the founder of Tiktok parent company Bytedance, Zhang Yiming.