Jack Ma (net worth: $33.5 billion)

A former English teacher who once earned $10 a month, Jack Ma is the richest man in China. Ma founded Alibaba Group, the world’s largest collection of e-commerce websites. The Hangzhou, China-based company operates sites including Taobao, the nation’s biggest shopping site. The group has more than 400 million active buyers in more than 190 countries. Ma also owns a stake in online-payment service Alipay.