China's Richest Were Biggest Losers in 2011

Biggest Loser: China's richest person in 2011 ended the year as its biggest loser.

China’s 10 richest families topped the list of the people who lost the most money in 2011 thanks to a plunging stock market and tightened lending, according to Money Week magazine.

China’s richest person in July of 2011 was SANY chairman Liang Wengen. By the end of the year he had lost 16 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in the value of his SANY stock holdings — the biggest asset loss among all Chinese.

As China’s leading maker of construction equipment, SANY has suffered intensely after the government tightened lending to cool inflation. That cut down the number of new construction projects, severely curtailing the demand for SANY’s construction equipment. The company plans to lay off 30% of its workers and cut the salaries of half of its remaining workforce.

Another big loser last year is BYD Auto chairman Wang Chuanfu. The value of his assets plunged 10.2 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), mainly because BYD’s valuation dropped to 35.6 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) from 77.9 billion yuan ($12.3 billion) between July and December of 2011, placing Wang second among China’s biggest wealth losers. BYD’s net profits plunged 80% during the first half of 2011 on slowing auto sales, erasing much of the magic infused by Warren Buffet’s $232 mil. investment in October 2008 for a 10% stake in the company.

The smallest loser among China’s top 10 wealthiest posted a loss of 5 billion yuan ($792 million) during 2011, according to China Times.