Hurun Research Institute released a report recalculating the personal wealth of the Top Twenty entrepreneurs on the Hurun Rich List that own listed companies in order to gauge the current effects of the economic downturn on personal wealth.

The total reduction in the Top Twenty’s fortune was US$19.3 with an average wealth decrease of 50.47%. Rong Zhijian and CITIC Pacific Group saw a fortune decrease of 85% between 1 September and 28 October 2008; whilst Zhang Yin and Nine Dragons Paper lost 83% in the same time frame.

Midea and Metersbonwe were the two companies to suffer the least. He Xiangjian of Midea saw a fortune reduction of 18% and Metersbonwe’s Zhou Chengjian has lost 21% of his wealth.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and chief researcher at Hurun Report, says, “In Hurun Report’s ten year history, I have never seen fortunes fall so much in so little time – it is unprecedented.”