“PPD Founder Loses $14 Billion in Stock Selloff, Ending Two-Week Stint as China’s Richest Person”
Colin Huang’s brief reign as China’s richest person ended abruptly after a significant drop in PDD Holdings Inc.’s stock value on Monday. The parent company of e-commerce giant Temu saw its shares plummet, causing Huang’s fortune to decline by $14.1 billion—his largest single-day loss to date. Now ranked as the fourth-richest person in China, Huang’s net worth stands at $35.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This sharp decline came just weeks after Huang became the first tech mogul in over three years to top China’s wealth rankings, displacing bottled-water billionaire Zhong Shanshan, who reclaimed the top spot with a $50 billion fortune.
The decline followed PDD’s announcement of quarterly revenue that fell short of analyst expectations, along with a warning that future sales growth would slow. PDD’s Chief Executive Officer, Chen Lei, emphasized that the company’s current growth path was unsustainable, especially with increasing competition from rivals like ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba Group. The company’s US-listed shares dropped 29%, the steepest decline in its history. Additionally, management tempered expectations for future dividend payouts and share buybacks, citing intense competition and external uncertainties as reasons for holding off.
Huang, who founded PDD in 2015 after a successful run of gaming and e-commerce ventures, rose rapidly among the world’s wealthiest individuals, reaching a peak net worth of $71.5 billion in early 2021. He stepped down as CEO in 2020 and left the board in 2021 amid China’s regulatory crackdown on tech giants.
PDD, known for offering low-cost products through massive promotions, gained popularity among budget-conscious consumers during a period of global inflation. Under the Temu brand, it expanded internationally and became one of the most downloaded apps in the US after its 2022 launch, challenging competitors like Shein and Amazon in certain segments. However, the company has faced challenges, including protests from small merchants over alleged unfair penalties, and regulatory scrutiny from the European Union and US lawmakers regarding import tax loopholes and duty-free shipment thresholds.