On October 29th, 2024, the Hurun Research Institute released the Hengchang Shaofang·Hurun China Rich List 2024, marking the 26th consecutive year of this highly anticipated wealth list. Since its inception in 1999, the Hurun Rich List has witnessed the transformation of China's wealth landscape and the changing dynamics of its industries.

This year, the entertainment and media sector drew a significant shift in the wealth distribution. The Hengchang Shaofang·Hurun China Rich List 2024 highlighted that the media and entertainment industry once again ranked among the top ten sectors in terms of wealth distribution. Although the sector accounts for just 4.5% of the total list's individuals, it holds an impressive 8.5% of the total wealth, comparable to the top three industries. The list not only reveals the overall trends in wealth creation in China but also underscores the critical players in the entertainment and media industries and the strategies they have implemented to stay ahead of the curve in this ever-evolving landscape. Companies like ByteDance, with its products such as Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), have emerged as the representatives of this new wave of wealth creation, restructuring how people engage with entertainment and social platforms.

Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, is a standout figure in this transformation, having built the company up to become the world's most giant unicorn. His success in the entertainment and media space is closely tied to the rise of Douyin, a short video platform that has attracted millions of users since its launch in 2016. According to the Hengchang Shaofang·Hurun China Rich List 2024, Zhang Yiming secured the top spot this year with an estimated fortune of 350 billion RMB. Douyin's rapid rise can be attributed to its sophisticated technological foundation, precise user targeting, and diverse content ecosystem.

Zhang's entrepreneurial vision has always centred around using technology to transform information dissemination, making it more efficient for people to access information. Before founding ByteDance, Zhang had already established a real estate search engine called Jiujiu Fang, as well as a news aggregation platform, Jinri Toutiao. He recognized the growing demand for fragmented entertainment content in the mobile internet era and capitalized on this by launching Douyin, a platform designed to deliver both entertainment and knowledge in short bursts of time. In an age of information overload, users prefer quick, straightforward ways of accessing content, and short videos perfectly meet this demand. Zhang's foresight and market insight allowed Douyin to rise above the competitive short-video market, with its algorithm-driven recommendations boosting user engagement and activity.

The success of Douyin has also spurred growth in related industries such as e-commerce and advertising. The platform's live-streaming and short-video advertisements have become essential tools for brands and businesses to promote their products. Especially during the pandemic, the rise of live-streaming e-commerce helped diversify Douyin's business model. Zhang has remained committed to a user-first philosophy, constantly optimizing products and services to enhance the user experience.

Another prominent player in the Hurun China Rich List 2024 is Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), a leading lifestyle-sharing community in China. The company's founders, Qu Fang and Mao Wenchao, have amassed personal fortunes of 12 billion RMB and 18 billion RMB, respectively, securing positions at 120th and 180th on the list. Mao Wenchao even earned a spot as one of the top two newcomers to the list in 2024. Over the past eleven years, they have transformed Xiaohongshu into a Chinese unicorn, and the company completed its latest round of financing in July 2024, with a valuation of around 120 billion RMB. Qu and Mao's vision is to leverage the power of community to help people discover and share quality products and experiences, ultimately reshaping consumer behavior.

Since its inception in 2013, Xiaohongshu has embodied its founders' courage and innovative spirit. On an overseas trip, Qu and Mao noticed that despite the abundance of high-quality foreign products, Chinese consumers needed more access due to more information. This realization planted the seed for Xiaohongshu, a platform designed to help Chinese users find trustworthy recommendations for quality products.

Xiaohongshu's evolution from a platform for sharing overseas shopping experiences to a multi-dimensional lifestyle community encompassing beauty, fashion, travel, and more has led the company to discover its niche. The platform is mainly known for its "grass planting" culture, where users share positive reviews of products and services, effectively promoting them to others. This organic form of marketing, driven by creators and everyday users alike, has significantly boosted product visibility and sales. Xiaohongshu's influence has grown to the point where it is humorously referred to as a "replacement for search engines" by young people, further cementing its dominance in the youth market.

In 2023, Xiaohongshu achieved its first profitable year, with revenue soaring to 3.7 billion USD. In the first quarter of 2024, the company's sales exceeded 1 billion USD, with net profits reaching 200 million USD, a sharp rise from the previous year. This growth, coupled with its most recent funding round in July 2024, which raised its valuation to 17 billion USD (approximately 120 billion RMB), highlights Xiaohongshu's strong financial performance and investors' confidence investors confidence in its future. Notable investors in this round include DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, and CITIC Capital. Despite a slight drop in valuation compared to its 20 billion USD valuation in 2021, the backing of several high-profile investors speaks to the trust in Xiaohongshu's prospects.

In addition to Douyin and Xiaohongshu, several other companies and entrepreneurs in the entertainment and media industry have secured significant positions on the 2024 Hurun Rich List, including Bilibili (B站), one of China's largest online youth communities. According to the list, Chen Rui, the founder of Bilibili, has a personal fortune of 6 billion RMB, ranking at 875th. Bilibili, known for its unique blend of ACG (anime, comics, and games) culture and general entertainment content, has attracted a massive young audience. The platform continues to innovate in content creation and distribution, becoming a key player in China's entertainment media landscape.

Initially focused on ACG content, Bilibili has expanded its offerings to include films, TV shows, documentaries, lifestyle content, and food. Features like live comments ("bullet comments") and interactive live-streaming have fostered a more profound sense of community and user engagement.

To stand out in a competitive media environment, Bilibili has created a unique offline experience through its annual Bilibili World (BW) event.

In 2024, the eighth edition of BW, held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, attracted over 300,000 visitors over three days, setting a new attendance record. The event blends online and offline engagement, allowing fans to interact with their favourite virtual characters, content creators, and celebrities. This "sense of presence" and "participation" in an offline setting is something users rarely experience online. By leveraging such exhibitions, Bilibili successfully combines the niche "subculture" of young people, further strengthening user engagement and brand loyalty.

These companies exemplify the dynamism and innovation of the Chinese entertainment and media industry, which continues to play an essential role in the broader wealth creation landscape.