China’s Top 5 Influencers Made So Much Money In 2023, They Make TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew Look Like An Underachiever
When it comes to earning top dollar, Chinese influencers are a massive force to be reckoned with, according to the numbers released by the Guangdong E-Commerce Summit Forum.
Is it any wonder the likes of Terence Cao and Wang Lei, want a piece of the action?
Chinese live streamer Crazy Xiao Yangge was the top earning Chinese influencer of 2023 with his US$451mil (S$604mil) payday. Rounding up the top three was Xin Youzhi with US$436mil (S$578mil) and Austin Li Jiaqi with US$323mil (S$432mil).
In comparison, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Shou Zi Chew, who made the news for buying a S$86mil Good Class Bungalow in Queen Astrid Pak in 2021, reportedly makes S$26.8mil to $33.5mil annually. He is said to be worth S$200mil.
Here’s how much China’s top five influencers brought home last year.
5. The Boss Seven – S$49.8mil
The only woman on the list, little is known about influencer The Boss Seven, like her real name for example, who earned a cool 263mil yuan (S$49.8mil) in 2023.
Known for her comedic content on Douyin, on which she has a robust six million followers.
4. Dong Yuhui – S$105mil
In the fourth spot is Dong Yuhui, 30. who took home 522.6mil yuan (S$105mil) last year.
The former English tutor employs a different approach and uses a literary style when pushing products.
Yuhui recently launched his own channel (he is contracted under live-streaming e-commerce website East Buy) earlier this month.
Selling mostly agricultural produce and canned goods, the first four-hour session brought in S$30.4mil in gross merchandise value.
When news of his annual income and inclusion in the list broke, Yuhui jokingly responded, “This is irresponsible reporting. My mum messaged me to bring money home.”
3. Austin Li Jiaqi – S$432mil
Widely known as China’s King of Lipsticks for selling 15,000 lipsticks in under five minutes, the beauty guru is a familiar name to many.
However, the 31-year-old’s reputation took a hit last year when he courted controversy over an insensitive statement about the work ethics of his followers when they questioned the high prices he was charging.
Even after an apology, it seems his earnings still took a hit.
According to the 2021 China (Mainland) Internet Anchor Annual Net Income list, his annual net income then was 1.8bil yuan (S$338mil), which earned him the top spot on the list.
Though he increased his earnings to an impressive 2.3bil yuan (S$432mil) in 2023, he fell to third place.
2. Xin Youzhi – S$577mil
Better known as Xinba, it seems the 2020 scandal over selling fake bird nest did little to dent his earnings for 2023.
The 36-year-old Heilongjiang native made an impressive 3.06bil yuan (S$577mil) last year.
But it is anyone’s guess if he will still be on the 2024 list.
In November last year, Xinba had his Douyin account banned for repeatedly posting insults and fake information.
“I don’t care about this platform, nor do I care about Douyin’s traffic. You can erase everything about me, I don’t care,” he said.
1. Crazy Little Yang Brother – S$607mil
The top-earning influencer is 28-year-old Zhang Qingyang from the Anhui province.
Better known as Xiao Yang Ge aka Cazy Little Yang Brother online, he raked in a jaw-dropping 3.21bil yuan (S$607mil) last year.
Rather than just relying on his own efforts, Qingyang is a co-founder of an e-commerce company that manages several popular influencers, most notably The Boss Seven.
Qingyang was the first person to amass 100 million followers on Douyin in 2022 and his live streams attract more than one million people. The number once peaked at 1.9 million watchers.
In 2023, he revealed that he pays out 50mil yuan (S$9.3mil) in wages every month.
Also, he proclaimed that he “doesn’t avoid taxes” and paid 200mil yuan (S$3.7mil in taxes in 2022.
Experts have attributed Qingyang’s success to his family-friendly and humorous content which comes without risk of censorship.
Photos: SCMP
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