Produced by Radar Finance | Author: Xiao Sa | Editor: DeepSea

On June 12th, the "2024 New Fortune 500 List of Richest Individuals" was released, a moment when billionaires once again showed their worth.

No one has been able to shake the position of Zhong Shanshan, the founder of Nongfu Spring, as the richest person. With a stock market value of 456.27 billion yuan, he has retained his position at the top of the New Fortune 500 List.

The list shows that Huang Zheng, the 44-year-old founder of Pinduoduo, ranks second with a fortune of 424.85 billion yuan, only 31.42 billion yuan behind Zhong Shanshan, making him the person who poses the greatest threat to the latter's position as the richest person.

Huang Zheng is only one step away from becoming China's richest person, which is inseparable from Pinduoduo's strong performance in the capital market over the past two years. Market data shows that from 2022 to June 13, 2024, Pinduoduo's gains were approximately 40%, 80%, and 3%, respectively, while Alibaba and JD.com's US stocks were both in a downward state in 2022 and 2023.

The sharp rise in Pinduoduo's stock price has also made Huang Zheng the "fastest money-making person" on China's richest list in the past few years. In the 2018 New Fortune 500 List, Huang Zheng's fortune was only 6.7 billion yuan, ranking 483rd. In six years, Huang Zheng's fortune has increased by over 410 billion yuan.

In fact, as early as July 1, 2020, Huang Zheng announced his resignation as CEO of Pinduoduo and donated shares: 2.37% of the shares were donated to establish the Xingfan Charity Fund, and 7.74% of the shares were given to the Pinduoduo partnership. This significantly reduced Huang Zheng's stake in Pinduoduo from 43.4% to 29.4%.

Whether intentionally or not, he cleverly avoided becoming China's richest person. But now, given Pinduoduo's momentum, it seems only a matter of time before this post-80s generation becomes China's new richest person.

Donating Shares and Retiring to "Give Up" the Position as the Richest Person

The world of wealth never lacks new kings.

Back in 2020, when Pinduoduo had not yet turned a profit, but the company's previous continuous doubling growth (revenue growth dropped to 97.37% in 2020) gave capital a reason to pursue it疯狂, and the company's stock price soared.

Starting from March of that year, Pinduoduo's stock price started around $30 and reached a high of $212 by February of the following year.

In 2020, Pinduoduo's stock price increased by 370%, becoming the first Chinese company in terms of market value growth. By December 31, 2020, Pinduoduo's market value exceeded $200 billion.

One of the results of Pinduoduo's stock price "taking off" is that its founder and major shareholder, Huang Zheng, has continuously risen in the rankings of various wealth lists.

Specifically, in May 2020, Huang Zheng's net worth soared by $17.9 billion in two months, making him the third-richest person in China, second only to Ma Huateng and Jack Ma. On June 22, 2020, a historic moment occurred when 40-year-old Huang Zheng surpassed Jack Ma to become China's second-richest person, narrowing the gap with richest Ma Huateng to