The man responsible for producing listings of China’s richest people since 1999, Rupert Hoogewerf, is now a millionaire himself but heated debate over his lists never goes away.  

 

Through advertisements and sponsorship his team earned at least US$1.2 million this year, said Thursday's Beijing News.

 

Hoogewerf told the press his 30-member team had earned between US$1.2 million and US$12 million this year but didn't reveal a more accurate figure, said the paper.

 

The annual publication of Hoogewerf's rich list is always attention-grabbing even though many industry insiders argue that not all the statistics used are credible. For example, Hoogewerf concluded that the wealth of Zhu Xinli, president of the Beijing-based juice producer Huiyuan Group, quadrupled based on one case of the company's stock transfer. Many stock analysts say this method of calculation isn't scientific.

 

Hoogewerf says he doesn't have one fixed standard to calculate wealth, according to the paper. He said the easiest way was always to calculate the market value of the stock held by senior figures in large companies.   

 

Analysts have said there are other factors that may contribute to the make-up a person's accumulated wealth, said the paper.

 

Last year a Shanghai-based real estate developer reacted strongly when he learned he was listed as having US$225 million and considered suing Hoogewerf, according to the paper.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2006)