Top 10 richest people in Asia in 2023

The dynamic landscape of wealth in Asia has consistently captured global attention, with an impressive array of individuals making their mark on the Forbes real-time list of billionaires. But have you ever wondered who tops this list of the richest people in Asia?

To no one’s surprise, as of August 2023, Asia's richest person is Mukesh Ambani, with an astonishing net worth of $96.4 billion. The list of the richest Asians goes on to extend beyond borders. This article presents a rundown of Asia's wealthiest people in 2023.

The Top 10 Richest People in Asia

The real-time billionaires list worldwide compiled by Forbes shows the top 10 richest people in Asia as of September 15, 2023.

Rank & Name	Country	Net Worth (in USD Billions)
#1 Mukesh Ambani	India	91.6
#2 Zhong Shanshan	China	61.0
#3 Gautam Adani	India	55.8
#4 Zhang Yiming	China	39.1
#5 Li Ka-shing	Hong Kong	37.1
#7 Tadashi Yanai and Family	Japan	34.7
#7 Ma Huateng	China	33.8
#8 Colin Zheng Huang	China	33.8
#9 William Ding	China	32.3
#10 Shiv Nadar	India	29.0

A Deeper Insight: Richest People in Asia in 2023

Mukesh Ambani

• Net worth: $91.6 billion
• Source: Diversified
• Age: 66
• Residence: Mumbai, India
• Citizenship: India

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, is the richest man in Asia. He ventured into the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the ownership of Mumbai Indians in 2008. While Jio, Reliance's telecom and broadband service, has drawn close to 450 million subscribers already, the recent debut of Jio Financial Services in August reflects the company's expanding horizons. Further, BlackRock and Jio Financial Services announced an agreement to form Jio BlackRock in July 2023, a joint venture to bring advanced and innovative investment solutions to investors in India.

Also Read: The top 10 richest women in India in 2023

Zhong Shanshan

• Net worth: $61.0 billion
• Source: Beverages, pharmaceuticals, self-made
• Age: 68
• Residence: Hangzhou, China
• Citizenship: China

Zhong Shanshan, the mind behind Nongfu Spring, a bottled water firm, ranks as the second richest man in Asia and at the top as the most affluent Chinese. From construction work to journalism and beverage sales, his journey led him to entrepreneurship. Additionally, he holds sway over Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, a producer of swift diagnostic tests for Covid-19. As per estimations at the end of 2022, Zhong Shanshan maintained his spot as the richest in China in the previous year, with a $62.3 billion fortune.

Gautam Adani

• Net worth: $55.8 billion
• Source: Infrastructure, commodities, self-made
• Age: 61
• Residence: Ahmedabad, India
• Citizenship: India

Gautam Adani heads the Adani Group, a $32 billion enterprise spanning ports, airports, energy, and green initiatives. Starting as a trading firm in 1988, he is now among the richest people in Asia. He showcased his prowess as India's premier airport operator and controller of Gujarat's significant Mundra Port. Moreover, his strategic acquisition of Holcim's Indian assets in 2022 propelled him to the position of India's second-largest cement producer.

Zhang Yiming

• Net worth: $39.1 billion
• Source: TikTok, self-made
• Age: 39
• Residence: Beijing, China
• Citizenship: China

Zhang Yiming, the driving force behind the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is best recognised for birthing the wildly popular app TikTok, which boasts a staggering user count of over 1 billion worldwide. He maintains a 20 percent stake in ByteDance, whose value has faced uncertainty due to potential US TikTok bans. Beyond TikTok's fame, ByteDance spans diverse sectors like news, education, and gaming.

Li Ka-Shing

• Net worth: $37.1 billion
• Source: Diversified, self-made
• Age: 95
• Residence: Hong Kong
• Citizenship: Hong Kong

Li Ka-Shing, one of Asia's richest persons, began his journey at 21 when he launched Cheung Kong Plastics, named after the Yangtze River, with $6,500 in savings and loans from relatives back in 1950. His Li Ka Shing Foundation's generosity is remarkable, having donated over $3.8 billion to various causes, with the lion's share directed towards Greater China. Notably, CK Hutchison Holdings, controlled by Li Ka-shing, and the Vodafone Group have recently agreed to merge their respective British telecommunications businesses to make the country’s biggest mobile operator.

Tadashi Yanai & family

• Net worth: $34.7 billion
• Source: Fashion retail, self-made
• Age: 74
• Residence: Tokyo, Japan
• Citizenship: Japan

Tadashi Yanai is the mastermind behind Fast Retailing, a prominent clothing empire listed in Tokyo, which oversees the Uniqlo chain. Fast Retailing's portfolio extends to brands such as Theory, Helmut Lang, J Brand, and GU. Notably, Uniqlo, the flagship brand, boasts a vast presence with over 2,400 stores dispersed across 25 countries, making Tadashi rank among the top 10 richest people in Asia. Uniqlo has recently announced the appointment of a chief operating officer, Daisuke Tsukagoshi, to aid Tadashi Yanai.

Ma Huateng

• Net worth: $33.8 billion
• Source: internet media, self-made
• Age: 51
• Residence: Shenzhen, China
• Citizenship: China

Ma Huateng, known as Pony Ma, guides Tencent Holdings, the Chinese internet titan. He oversees WeChat, a widely used messaging app with 1.3 billion users, making him one of Asia's richest people. Beyond that, Tencent holds substantial interests in global gaming with a stake in Epic Games and ranks among the top video game publishers. Ma's influence spreads to Tesla and Spotify through Tencent's investments. Notably, he has recently revealed plans for Tencent to develop new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for the broader human good.

Colin Zheng Huang

• Net worth: $33.8 billion
• Source: E-commerce
• Age: 43
• Residence: Shanghai, China
• Citizenship: China

Colin Huang is the founder of PDD Holdings, a well-known Chinese e-commerce organisation to have changed its name from Pinduoduo in February, 2023. Despite having stepped down as chairman over a couple of years ago, Huang still owns about 28% of the company shares. Huang has also founded an online gaming Xinyoudi, and another e-commerce platform known as Ouku.com. In a list of China’s 100 richest people compiled by Forbes in 2022, Huang ranked at the ninth spot.

William Ding

• Net worth: $32.3 billion
• Source: Online games
• Age: 51
• Residence: Hangzhou, China
• Citizenship: China

William Ding is the CEO at NetEase, one of the biggest online gaming companies in the world. The games on offer from the organisation include Fantasy Westward, Eggy Party, and Justice Mobile, the last one being a battle game that uses AI to create story lines. As registered back in 2003, Ding was the richest man and the first internet gaming billionaire in China. Twenty years later, amidst a tumultuous economic atmosphere in China, Ding had managed to add $12.2 billion in his net worth between October 2022 and July 2023.

Ding contributes to sustainable agriculture as well, as NetEase's e-commerce branch Yanxuan sells pork sourced from its own farms.

Shiv Nadar

• Net worth: $29.8 billion
• Source: Software services
• Age: 78
• Residence: New Delhi, India
• Citizenship: India
  

Zeng Robin

• Net worth: $29.0 billion
• Source: Batteries
• Age: 54
• Residence: Hong Kong
• Citizenship: Hong Kong

Robin Zeng, the mastermind behind Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), a major electric vehicle battery supply player, takes the reins as founder and chairman. His achievements span business and scholarship, armed with a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Physics. On January 17, 2023, CATL and NIO—an automobile manufacturer based in China—signed a five-year comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement, furthering their partnership.