The Hurun Research Institute on September 24 released its Rich List 2012, an annual ranking of the 1,000 richest individuals in China. This is the 14th year of the China Rich List, since Hurun Report first created the list in 1999, and the fifth year it has covered 1,000 individuals.

In a year that saw the Shanghai Stock Exchange fall 23 percent, 469 of the Hurun Top 1,000 saw their wealth shrink, 291 saw their wealth grow and 114 stayed the same. There were 37 individuals who saw their wealth shrink by more than 50 percent.

For the first time since Hurun published its rich list in 1999, manufacturing has overtaken property as the main driver of wealth.

Those who built their wealth in media and entertainment are on the rise in Hurun's list, while those in property, natural resources (especially mining), retail and new energy saw their wealth atrophy.

There were 251 billionaires in China ranked this year, down 20 from last year, although there were only 15 billionaires a mere six years ago.

The average wealth of the Hurun Top 1,000 is down 9 percent to $860 million, but still almost double that of 2008 when it was $439 million.

Solar, textiles and retail were hardly profit-generating industries this year, while entertainment, IT, natural gas and property developers sitting on large land banks have had a good year.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher said, "Although this year has seen some significant wealth bloodletting, it is worth remembering that these entrepreneurs are still up 40 percent from two years ago and almost 10 times 10 years ago."

"Drinks King" Zong Qinghou, 67, of the Wahaha Group is at the top of the list — a spot he held in 2010. Zong tops the list with a personal fortune of $12.6 billion, based on his 80 percent holding of the soft drink brand Wahaha, which last year reported net profits of over U$1 billion.

Fifty-eight-year-old Wang Jianlin's wealth jumped 44 percent to $10.3 billion, bouncing him into second place. Earlier this year, Wang shook up the entertainment industry with the announcement of a $2.6 billion acquisition of US cinema chain AMC Entertainment, the largest international acquisition by someone from the Hurun Rich List to date. Wanda's core business remains its property arm, particularly its shopping malls, which continue to sprout up all over the country.

Robin Li Yanhong, 44, is in third place — unmoved from last year — with a net worth of $8 billion, based on his 16 percent of Baidu. Google's withdrawal from the Chinese market two years ago has allowed Baidu to cement its position as the top service for Chinese-language internet search users. Baidu has a market cap of over $50 billion.

Beijing is the city where the highest number of folks on the list call homes at 123, up by 12 from last year. Shanghai snatched back second place from Shenzhen with 80 individuals.

Provincially, Guangdong continues to lead the way with 174 individuals, followed by Zhejiang at 141. Interestingly, Inner Mongolia, famous for its coal mines, has overtaken HK for the first time, with 29 individuals based there compared with 23 for Hong Kong. For the first time this year, entrepreneurs from every region in China made the list, including one from Qinghai for the first time and four based in Tibet.

By birthplace, Zhejiang outdoes Guangdong with 157 individuals on the list compared to 114. Ninety-six individuals on the list were born in Jiangsu.

The Hurun Rich List is a snapshot of wealth as of 15 August 2012. U.S. dollar figures are a conversion of the RMB figures based on the 15 August 2012 exchange rate when $1 was RMB 6.3. The list includes those defined as born and brought up on the Chinese mainland, no matter which passport they might hold today.

About Hurun Report Inc.

Established as a research unit in 1999 by the British accountant Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Inc. has grown into a leading luxury-publishing group based in Shanghai. Hurun Report Inc. is comprised of four luxury magazines, the Hurun Research Institute and a business events division targeting China's entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals.

The flagship Hurun Report magazine is published monthly and reaches the households of 106,000 proven wealthy Chinese individuals and their advisers. The Hurun Report is best known for its annual Hurun China Rich List, widely considered the bible of the wealthy and the de-facto "who's who" of China's elite.