Tencent Holdings’ co-founder Pony Ma has regained the status of the richest individual in China, with a wealth estimate of US$44 billion as of September 16, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Popular game titles developed by Tencent drove this growth. However, Ma’s current wealth is approximately 40% lower than its January 2021 peak.

Since late 2022, the Chinese government has indicated a willingness to relax regulations on tech companies to reactivate economic growth. This includes easing scrutiny over the fintech sector following significant fines levied in that space.

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, now ranks as the second richest person in the country.