Following the upward cycle of the aluminum industry and the equity restructuring of the "Aluminum King of the World" family, a realignment involving hundreds of billions in wealth is unfolding in Shandong. According to the "2025 Shandong Wealth Creation List" released by the Shandong Business Daily on December 30, Zhang Gang, the helmsman of Xinfa Group Co., Ltd., topped the list with a wealth creation value of 112.767 billion yuan, ending the "reign" of Zheng Shuliang's family from Shandong Weiqiao Entrepreneur Group Co., Ltd. (Weiqiao Group). Concurrently, the equity restructuring at Weiqiao Group has propelled three "second-generation" scions into the top ten collectively, with the family's wealth growing from 167.413 billion yuan in 2024 to 194.968 billion yuan, continuing the wealth legend of the aluminum giant through "fission-like growth."
The shift between the old and new richest individuals, the collision of family succession and industry dividends, is redefining the wealth-creation logic of Shandong's private economy. This stems from a shareholding adjustment involving hundreds of billions of assets. In January 2025, Weiqiao Group completed the distribution of the estate of its founder, Zhang Shiping, with his widow, Zheng Shuliang, transferring all her shares to their son Zhang Bo, and daughters Zhang Hongxia and Zhang Yanhong.
As the founder of Weiqiao Group, Zhang Shiping repeatedly claimed the title of Shandong's richest person. After Zhang Shiping passed away in May 2019, his widow Zheng Shuliang became the richest person in Shandong on the 2019 Hurun Rich List and Forbes China Rich List. The aforementioned changes directly led to Zheng Shuliang's family, which had topped the list three times in the past five editions, exiting the rankings. Instead, the three "second-generation" entrepreneurs made a strong debut on the list as individuals: Zhang Bo ranked second with 74.882 billion yuan, while Zhang Hongxia and Zhang Yanhong ranked seventh and eighth with 62.562 billion yuan and 57.524 billion yuan respectively, creating a scenario where the "Weiqiao faction" occupies three of the top ten spots.
Notably, the combined wealth of the three Zhang siblings in 2025 reached 194.968 billion yuan, an increase of over 16% compared to the Zheng Shuliang family's 167.413 billion yuan in 2024. The equity split did not weaken the wealth strength of the Weiqiao faction; instead, it achieved a synergistic effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
In stark contrast to the "fission-like" rise of the Weiqiao faction is the "steady and solid" progress of the new richest person, Zhang Gang. As the core leader of Xinfa Group, another aluminum giant in Shandong, Zhang Gang's wealth creation value surged from 61.483 billion yuan in 2024 to 112.767 billion yuan, an increase of 51.284 billion yuan in one year.
Behind this growth lies a significant trend of consolidation at the top of Shandong's private economy: in the 2025 list, the combined wealth of 59 billionaires reached 17.8 trillion yuan, accounting for 70.92% of the total wealth creation value; the wealth creation values of the top 7 entrepreneurs all exceeded 60 billion yuan, an increase of 4 people compared to last year. Leading enterprises, leveraging resource integration and industrial advantages, are accelerating their share of the wealth pie, widening the gap with small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
This dynamic is closely related to the aluminum industry being in a favorable upward cycle. The latest data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) shows that global primary aluminum production in November 2025 was 6.086 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%; the average daily production was 202,900 tons. In a recent research report, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) stated that although aluminum prices have underperformed copper prices in the current non-ferrous metal upswing, from a supply-demand balance perspective, aluminum might exhibit tighter conditions than copper in 2026, and the tailwind from its financial attributes due to liquidity benefits may have already been fully priced in by the market.
Notably, during the aluminum industry's upcycle, Hongchuang Holding (SZ002379), an A-share listed company controlled by Zhang Bo, Zhang Hongxia, and Zhang Yanhong, is steadily progressing in resolving同业竞争 issues between companies under Weiqiao Group and the listed entity. On December 10 this year, the 14th deliberation meeting of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's M&A and Restructuring Review Committee for 2025 was held, with the deliberation result being that Hongchuang Holding's issuance of shares to purchase assets transaction complies with restructuring conditions and information disclosure requirements.
According to the plan previously announced by Hongchuang Holding, the company intends to issue shares to acquire a 100% equity stake in Hongtuo Industrial held by Weiqiao Aluminium Power, Jiahui Investment, Orient Asset Management, and others, with a transaction value of 63.5 billion yuan.
Comments