BEIJING (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Billionaire Wang Jianlin has surpassed Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Li Ka Shing and Alibaba's founder Jack Ma to become the wealthiest man in Asia after Wanda Group's stock soared in Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

He had a fortune worth US$33.7 billion (S$45 billion) as of Friday, according to Forbes magazine.

Wang was born in October 24, 1954, in Cangxi county, South-west China's Sichuan province.

In 1989, he became the general manager of Xigang Residential Development. He was head of factory in a Jiangyin-based factory.

In 1992, he started working as the general manager for Dalian Wanda Group, where he has been CEO since 1993.

His company owns 9.03 million sq m of investment property, 58 Wanda Shopping Plazas, 15 luxury hotels, 68 cinemas, 57 department stores, and 54 karaoke centers around China.

The company became the world's largest theatre owner in 2012 when it acquired AMC Theaters. He bought out US-based AMC Entertainment for US$2.6 billion. He listed it on the New York Stock Exchange in December.

In September 2013 he announced plans to build the world's largest studio pavilion at Oriental Movie Metropolis which includes a 10,000 sq m studio and an underwater stage.

In 2014, he acquired land at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, to build the American headquarters of his entertainment company.