A relatively minor gap of $4.4 billion separated the third and fourth contenders in a list of Asia's wealthiest people, as published by Bloomberg on Dec. 17, Wednesday.
The amount was enough to ensure a place for Chinese real estate businessman Wang Jianlin in the top three positions, exclusively filled by Chinese billionaires.
Unsurprising to those who keep track of Chinese business news, Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma and Hong Kong property tycoon Li Ka-shing--once called "Superman" for his shrewd investment sense--were ranked in the first and second positions, respectively.
Ma's accolade as the continent's richest man was publicized last week, in a year in which he has been behind the most valuable initial public offering (IPO) in history, and was runner-up in TIME magazine's Person of the Year award.
Wang's closest competitor was India's wealthiest person, 60-year-old Mukesh Ambani, who fell away during a period when Wang's fortune rose by an astounding 63 percent.
Additionally, Wang prepares Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., China's biggest commercial property developer, for an IPO that is expected to raise approximately $3.7 billion. Trading will begin on Dec. 23, 2014, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Although Wang's IPO value is nowhere near that of Ma's Alibaba Group on the New York Stock Exchange, the figures are still impressive enough to achieve Wednesday's rank. The Wang family will end up owning about 54 percent of the real estate entity after the IPO.
Bloomberg also noted that Wang's other assets include a department store chain and majority stakes in two movie theater brands.