Xu Rongmao

Xu was born in Shishi, Fujian Province, the oldest of the eight children. After graduating from high school during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, he was sent to the countryside to work as a barefoot doctor. In the 1970s, he emigrated to Hong Kong and worked as a textile worker.

In 1988, he claimed to invest US$0.19 million in a knitting factory in his hometown, but he intended to build a hotel instead, although investments in private hotels were forbidden at that time. However, as soon as the construction was completed, the government policy was changed to allow private owners to have their hotels. Then Xu became the owner of the first private three-star hotel in China. He then started to invest into developing residential complexes and resorts in Fujian.

In the 1990s, he pushed his real estate business into Beijing and Shanghai. He undertook several property ventures in Australia in the 1990s. In 2005, The New York Times reported he had moved his family to Darwin, Australia.[2] He completed his Master of Business Administration via distance-learning from the University of Adelaide[1][2] and invested in real estate in the early 1990s. During the 2003-04-year, Xu was the largest individual donor to the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party.[1][2]

In the 2000s (decade), he expanded his business by acquiring listed companies including Shimao Holdings (listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange) and Shimao International (previously listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), while the latter was privatized by him in 2007.[4] Shimao Property was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2006.[5]

In 2008, Xu was reported to be interested in buying Newcastle United F.C. from then owner Mike Ashley.[6]

Net worth

Xu's net worth is compiled on the Financial Review Rich List, the Forbes China Rich List, and the Hurun Report China Rich List.

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes China Rich List		Hurun Report China Rich List
	Rank	Net worth (A$)	Rank	Net worth (US$)	Rank	Net worth (US$)
2011[7][8][9]	n/a	not listed	29	$2.40 billion
2012[10][11]	n/a	not listed	10	$4.00 billion
2013[12][13][14]	7	$4.82 billion	12		8	$6.90 billion
2014[15][16]	6	$6.35 billion
2015[17][18][19]	5	$6.89 billion	16	$5.40 billion	41	$5.43 billion
2016[20][21]	6	$5.39 billion			21	$7.75 billion
2017[22][23][24]	8	$5.96 billion	22	$7.22 billion	33	$8.45 billion
2018[25][26][27]	4	$9.09 billion			19	$13.18 billion
2019[28][29][30]	4	$10.39 billion			20	$14.73 billion
2020[31][32]	4	$18.06 billion	n/a	not listed	23	$19.10 billion
2021[33]	8	$11.70 billion
2022	22	$4.80 billion
2023[34]	19	$4.90 billion

Legend
Icon	Description
	Has not changed from the previous year
	Has increased from the previous year
	Has decreased from the previous year

• Shimao Group
• Shimao Property
• "China 2013 Real Estate Category Winner: Hui Wing Mau". Entrepreneur of the Year. EY. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2014.