(Yicai Global) Oct. 12 -- Xu Jiayin, the 59-year old founder of real estate giant China Evergrande Group [HKG:3333], took the top spot in the latest China rich list released by Hurun today with an estimated personal wealth of CNY290 billion (USD44 billion).

Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s [HKG:0700] Pony Ma, 46, came in second with CNY250 billion, up 52 percent on the year, and Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA], took third place with an estimated personal wealth of CNY200 billion, down 2 percent from 2016.

Similar to last year, the top spots went to the real estate and information technology sectors. Only this time, Xu Jiayin has pipped Wanda Group founder Wang Jianlin and Pony Ma has overtaken his Alibaba counterpart.

Xu's wealth grew almost four-fold this year, making him the richest man in any Hurun China Rich List published to date.

Wang Jianlin, China's former wealthiest man, slipped to fifth place, with his personal wealth sliding to CNY60 billion from CNY155 billion.

The average wealth of entrepreneurs on the list increased 12.5 percent to CNY8.1 billion this year, outpacing the growth of gross domestic product by nearly 200 percent. The total worth of the 100 richest people soared 60 percent.

Four of the 10 richest people on the list are internet moguls, with Robin Li, chief executive of Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU], and his wife Ma Dongmin ranking seventh with CNY125 million, and Ding Lei, founder of NetEase Inc. [NASDAQ:NTES] taking 10th place with CNY110 billion to join Pony Ma and Jack Ma.

China's 'delivery king' Wang Wei, who founded and backdoor-listed SF Express, listed as S.F. Holding Co. [SHE:002352], came in at fifth with an estimated personal wealth of CNY150 billion.

Some 2,130 entrepreneurs meet the CNY2 billion (USD304 million) minimum requirement for inclusion on the list, up 74 from a year earlier. The total number has doubled over the past five years and increased more than 20-fold over the past 15.

Some 100 people on the list were born in the 1980s, known as post-80s in China, 32 more than last year. Some 39 of them built their businesses from scratch, almost double the figure for 2016.

Six of the people on the list were born in the 1990s, three more than a year ago. Dai Wei, the 26-year-old founder of bike-sharing startup Ofo, topped the list of self-made multibillionaires born in the 90s with an estimated wealth of CNY3.5 billion.

Beijing was the top home for entrepreneurs on the list, though the number fell to 300 from 322 last year. Shenzhen came in second with 223 with Shanghai taking bronze at 173, up 11 from 2016. Hangzhou posted the biggest increase in billionaire residents, with the figure rising by 30 to 153, placing the eastern city behind nearby Shanghai.