5 Koreans on Forbes list of 100 richest tech billionaires

According to the "Richest People in Tech" list announced by the American economic weekly Forbes on Friday, 20 Chinese tech leaders were named in the list including Jack Ma, the founder of the world’s biggest e-commerce company Alibaba. When it comes to the number of tech billionaires in the list, China is second to the U.S. with 51 on the list.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped the list. Jack Ma, ranked the first not only in China but also in Asia, came in the 7th around the world with 23.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Five Koreans who made the list include Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee (ranked the 19th with 10 billion dollars), Samsung Group’s apparent heir Lee Jae-yong (29th with 7.6 billion dollars), Smilegate CEO Kwon Hyuk-bin (60th with 3.4 billion dollars), Nexon Chairman Kim Jung-ju (79th with 2.7 billion dollars) and Kim Beom-soo, chairman of Kakao`s board of directors (92nd with 2.3 billion dollars).

bonhong@donga.com