Mukesh Ambani is again richest Asian as China’s Zhong Loses $22 billion

Mukesh Ambani is again richest Asian as China’s Zhong Loses $22 billion

India's Mukesh Ambani is back to being the wealthiest person in Asia. Despite a brutal week for markets, his Reliance Industries Ltd. was relatively unscathed as it said it would spin off its oil-to-chemicals business into an independent unit. With a net worth of about $80 billion, Ambani is again richer than Zhong Shanshan, whose bottled-water company tanked a record 20% this week. The Chinese tycoon is worth $76. 6 billion, down more than $22 billion from a peak just last week, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ambani spent most of the past two years leading the ranking of Asia's richest people, taking over from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Jack Ma. Then the listing of two companies put Zhong on the map: He grabbed the title from Ambani at the end of December and by early 2021 was the sixth-wealthiest person on Earth, surpassing Warren Buffett. Zhong's Nongfu Spring Co. more than tripled from its initial public offering to a peak in January as investors flocked to consumer shares, while his vaccine maker, Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., surged as much as 3, 757%. But the rally faded as the Hong Kong and Chinese stock markets were among