Thirty-three young Chinese entrepreneurs were selected for the Hurun 2012 list of Richest Chinese under Forty. The number of nominees decreased by 23 over last year's rankings due to many young entrepreneurs turning 40. Only individuals who have more than 1 billion yuan in assets and less than forty years old can be chosen.

This is the second year that Hurun has published the list. Yang Huiyan, 31, vice-chairman of Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, won first place with a wealth of 36 billion yuan ($5.7 billion).

Fang Wei, 39, second only to Yang Huiyan, was found to be the richest young entrepreneur starting from scratch with assets of 15 billion yuan (US$2.357 billion).

"The richest Chinese under 40 are mostly successful in business of entertainment and information technology industries. Most people think that rich Chinese with more than 1 billion yuan got their wealth through inheritance. However, they are wrong. Most of them are self-made billionaires," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

   Yao Ming

Age:32

Wealth 2012:1 billion yuan (US$157.11 million)

Wealth source:self-made

Company:N/A

Headquarters:Shanghai

Industry:sports

Wealth in 2011:1 billion yuan (US$157.11 million)

Rank in 2011:51

  Tang Xizhong

Age: 38

Wealth: 1 billion yuan (US$157.11 million)

Wealth source: self-made

Company: Hunan Jingshi Group

Headquarters: Zhuzhou City of Hunan Province

Industry: zinc sulfate, lead, indium Im

Wealth in 2011: 1 billion yuan (US$157.11 million yuan)

Rank in 2011: 51