With Jack Ma displacing a Mainland property tycoon at the top of China's rich list thanks to Alibaba's recent massive IPO in New York, what does it take now to become a successful entrepreneur on the Chinese Mainland?

When Alibaba's massive IPO was listed in New York, it made Jack Ma the richest man on the Mainland.

The 38 per cent rise in Alibaba's stock on its first day saw Ma's fortune soar five times to 25 billion US dollars.

Displacing from the top spot property tycoon Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, reports Hurun China Rich List.

Wanda is an active overseas investor. It said in August it would spend one-point-two billion dollars developing property in Beverly Hills - aiding the Mainland's entry into Hollywood.

Reuben Mondejar is Professor at City University.

"Prestige is down compared to private ventures, and real-estate ventures,"said Reuben Mondejar, associate professor of dept. of management, City Univ..

Mr Ma isn't the only tech savvy, self-made billionaire in the top ten list. He is flanked by Pony Pa Huateng of Tencent, Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li, Richard Liu Qiangdong of JD.com and Lei Jun of Xiaomi Technology.

A couple of them have exposure in Hong Kong's capital markets. Tencent has been trading here for over 10 years. While Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun controls Hong Kong-listed Kingsoft Corp.

Benjamin Cavender is an analyst at China Market Research Group.

"The entrepreneurs who are going to be successful are going to be the ones who have vision but who are extremely flexible. What we see with companies like Alibaba is an ability to execute very quickly and this is a big part of what has made them and other top private Chinese firms successful,"said Benjamin Cavender, analyst of China Market Research Group.

Three of the top six also speak fluent English, including Ma, underscoring the globalization of the Chinese private sector, says the Hurun report.

Billy Mak is Associate Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Jack Ma may be tough act to follow - but the tech savvy on the Mainland look to be in the best position to follow his lead.

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