SINGAPORE, 5 September 2003 — Eleven Asians are among the 40 wealthiest people below 40 years old outside the United States, with India’s Kumar Birla ranked as the richest and six Chinese making the list, according to Fortune Magazine.
Birla, 35, chairman of India’s diversified Aditya Birla Group, is estimated to have a personal fortune of $1.3 billion, the latest issue of the US business publication said. He was joined by six Chinese, two Japanese, one South Korean and one Hong Kong tycoon who made it to the annual list.
However, their combined wealth of $5.86 billion was still no match for Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich, who topped the list with a fortune of $8.3 billion.
The 36-year-old Russian gained prominence in the footballing world when he bought English club Chelsea in July and spent more than $170 million on new players, turning the club into a genuine contender for the league title this season.
Birla, 10th on the global Top 40 list, was four places ahead of China’s William Ding, a newcomer to the list with a fortune of $826 million.
Ding, 33, built his fortune from setting up Netease, one of the largest Internet portals in China.
Hong Kong’s Richard Li, 36, the younger son of Asia’s richest tycoon Li Ka-shing, was 17th overall on the list with a fortune of $741 million
Other Asians on the under-40 list include Japan’s Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman of Internet shopping mall Rakuten, and his compatriot Yasumitsu Shigeta, chairman of communications equipment distributor Hikari Tsushin.
