{"id":1572023,"date":"2025-08-21T11:59:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T15:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1572023"},"modified":"2025-11-11T12:57:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:57:51","slug":"labubu-pop-mart-founder-wealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/08\/labubu-pop-mart-founder-wealth\/","title":{"rendered":"Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning Joins China\u2019s Richest as Labubu Craze Explodes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pop Mart’s blind box collectibles have sparked a cultural craze across Asia and beyond, with fans chasing rare figurines like Labubu. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Gett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the midst of a global frenzy for Labubus, the Chinese toy retailer behind them, Pop Mart, is enjoying a meteoric rise. The Hong Kong\u2013listed company reported this week that profits surged more than 400 percent<\/a> in the first half of 2025, propelling its market value well beyond U.S. toy giants like Hasbro and Barbie-maker Mattel, and elevating founder and CEO Wang Ning into the ranks of the world\u2019s wealthiest.<\/p>\n

Pop Mart began selling Labubu figures in 2019. Inspired by The Monsters<\/em>, an illustrated book series by Hong Kong designer Kasing Lung, the toys quickly became a sensation, with the company claiming they broke records in the art toy category. Their popularity soared even further after celebrities\u2014from K-pop idols to Paris Hilton\u2014were spotted with the characters.<\/p>\n

In tandem, Pop Mart shares have soared 240 percent this year, and so has Wang’s fortune. The entrepreneur’s net worth has climbed to $26.3 billion<\/a>, up from just $1.6 billion two years ago, according to Forbes. In June, Wang entered the ranks of China\u2019s 10 richest people as the youngest of the group. On one August trading day alone, his wealth jumped by $2.9 billion on Pop Mart’s stock surge\u2014the largest single-day gain among global billionaires.<\/p>\n

Wang, 38, founded Pop Mart in 2010 shortly after graduating from college, where he studied advertising. Pop Mart popularized the \u201cblind box\u201d concept, where buyers don\u2019t know which toy variation they\u2019re getting until after purchase. Pop Mart went public in Hong Kong in late 2020, just a year after introducing Labubu. Although the character originated in 2015, it was the Pop Mart collaboration that turned Labubu into a global collectible. Some Labubu blind boxes now sell for far above retail. One life-sized figurine fetched $170,000<\/a> at an art auction in June.<\/p>\n

With a market cap of more than $54 billion, Pop Mart is now valued far higher than Mattel ($6 billion) and Hasbro ($11 billion), and is worth about half as much as Japan’s Nintendo, the world\u2019s most valuable toy company.<\/p>\n

The craze continues\u2014for now<\/b><\/h3>\n

Labubus have become the biggest global toy craze since Beanie Babies in the 90s, and the frenzy shows little sign of slowing. This week, the company announced a miniature Labubu designed to hang from smartphones. Wall Street analysts expect more restocks and limited editions to keep demand hot. \u201cWe expect more restocking of existing series and launch of new editions to drive earnings expansion in the second half,\u201d said Jeff Zhang, an analyst at Morningstar, though he cautioned that Pop Mart shares may be overpriced given the hype and business risks.<\/p>\n

Suzin Wold, chief marketing officer at commerce platform Rithum, said Pop Mart\u2019s rapid growth underscores the global reach of the modern retail ecosystem. \u201cThe brand is built on joy and collectability. From blind box surprises to TikTok livestreams, Pop Mart creates cultural moments as much as purchases,\u201d she told Observer.<\/p>\n

Whatever comes next, by turning Labubu from a niche illustrated character into one of the world\u2019s most coveted collectibles, Wang has cemented both his personal fortune and Pop Mart\u2019s status as a dominant force in global toy culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pop Mart\u2019s Labubu toys are fueling a 240 percent stock surge and making CEO Wang Ning one of China\u2019s youngest billionaires.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":129757851,"featured_media":1572031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"post_tag":[424002836],"company":[423978690,433719,423808206,424000534],"channel":[186,11896,423806427],"location":[],"nyo_column":[],"person":[424000533],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[423982679],"class_list":{"0":"post-1572023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-collectibles","8":"observer_company-hasbro","9":"observer_company-mattel","10":"observer_company-nintendo","11":"observer_company-pop-mart","12":"channel-business","13":"channel-wealth","14":"channel-finance","15":"nyo_person-wang-ning"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/08\/labubu-pop-mart-founder-wealth\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2225505065.jpg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Rachel Curry","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"\"A