A seemingly innocuous doll has taken the world by storm, causing near-riots in stores, becoming a celebrity favourite and adding billions to its creator’s fortune. We are talking, of course, about Pop Mart’s viral Labubu dolls. With their gremlin-like faces and mischievous smiles, these dolls have become the hottest accessory of the season - they have been spotted hanging from the luxury bags of celebrities like Blackpink's Lisa, Rihanna, Singaporean socialite Jamie Chua and – closer home – Ananya Pandey.
In fact, the Labubu craze has been such that Pop Mart was forced to halt the sale of these monster dolls in UK stores following incidents of customers fighting over them, as per a BBC report.
So who is the man behind these viral dolls? That would be the chairman and CEO of Chinese toy maker Pop Mart International Group, Wang Ning.
CEO adds $1.6 billion to fortune
According to an April 2025 Forbes report, Wang Ning became $1.6 billion richer in a single day thanks to his company’s soaring popularity in the United States. The Pop Mart app became the most downloaded app in the US.
And despite trade tensions between China and the US, Americans queued up for hours to buy Labubu dolls.
{{/usCountry}}And despite trade tensions between China and the US, Americans queued up for hours to buy Labubu dolls.
{{/usCountry}}According to Forbes, Wang Ning’s real-time net worth stands at $18.7 billion.
Who is Wang Ning?
Wang Ning is the 38-year-old Chinese CEO and chairman of Pop Mart International Group. The toy company went public in Hong Kong in 2020.
Born in 1987 in Henan province, China, Wang graduated with a degree in advertising from Zhengzhou University in 2009, according to Gemway Assets.
Pop Mart launched in 2010, selling small figurines in ‘blind boxes’. This blind box strategy has been central to its success. Customers purchase sealed boxes without knowing which figurine they will receive, creating an element of surprise and encouraging repeat purchases to complete collections.