Move aside, Jay Chou. According to Chinese media, who released a ranking of celebs with the highest net worth recently, the richest Chinese celeb is not the 42-year-old singer.

The list, which took into account their earnings from 2017 to 2020, saw Jay bringing home 2.1bil yuan (S$447mil).

However, his hefty windfall could only land him the second spot on the list.

Coming in third and fourth are Taiwanese '90s pop idol-turned-entrepreneur Jimmy Lin, 47, and martial arts superstar Jackie Chan, 67, who made 1bil yuan (S$213mil) and 0.9 bil yuan (S$196mil) respectively.

He's even dressed in the billionaire special — a plain black tee

So, who’s the star sitting at the number one spot?

Well, it’s Chinese actor Chi Zhongrui, 68, who retired from showbiz in 1992.

According to reports, while the actor stepped out of the spotlight almost 20 years ago, his wealth has only multiplied. And it's all ‘cos of his wife, real estate mogul Chen Lihua, 80.



Zhongrui and Lihua

In 2017, Lihua reportedly had a net worth of 50.5bil yuan (S$10.7bil), and was hailed as the only female billionaire in the world that’s self-made.

Apart from founding and owning one of China’s biggest real estate companies, Fuwah International Group, Lihua, who is known as China’s richest woman, also dabbles in a range of other fields from agriculture to hospitality.

Lihua and Zhongrui were first introduced to each other in 1988, and immediately hit it off. After tying the knot in 1990, Zhongrui took a step back from showbiz to help Lihua run her businesses, expanding her business empire’s reach to other fields.



He's content to be the man behind his billionaire wife

According to reports, Zhongrui, who’s probably best known for playing the monk Tang Sanzang in the 1986 classic TV series, Journey to the West, was originally worried about being ridiculed by the public for “depending on his wife”.

However, he seems to have cast these worries behind him. After all, he's now the richest celeb in China.

Photos: Jay Chou/Instagram, Sohu