How Labubu Toys Made POP MART CEO $1.6B Almost Overnight

Wing Ning's Net Worth 2025: China’s 10th Richest CEO & Youngest Billionaire

Pop Mart CEO Wing Ning didn’t invent a new tech product—he repackaged joy. In May 2025, the Pop Mart app shot to #1 on the U.S. App Store. TikTok lit up with collectors posting unboxing videos. Celebrities joined in. Even Rihanna was seen leaving a Tokyo boutique with a Labubu doll in hand. That moment? It added $1.6 billion to Ning’s personal fortune in just 24 hours. He’s crossed business paths with Bernard Arnault and bumped into Brian Mariotti of Funko along the way. Now, he’s steering a $9 billion toy empire—and possibly the most viral collectible since the Beanie Baby era.

Rihanna spotted wearing a Labubu keychain had fans going wild.

Early Life

Wing Ning was born in China in the early 1980s, raised in a generation that saw the country transform economically. He studied industrial design and was drawn to branding and emotion-driven consumer goods. But success didn’t arrive quickly.

After college, he borrowed $30,000 from his family to launch his first retail venture. Margins were tight, and business was slow. In the early Pop Mart days, the shelves were crammed with hundreds of different toy brands, none of which moved fast enough to excite the market—or keep the lights on for long.

It wasn’t until 2015 that everything changed.

Career Rise: From Struggle to Viral Empire

That year, Ning made a risky move: he bought the rights to an obscure character called Molly. He paired it with a new format he'd discovered—blind boxes, where customers don’t know which figure they’ll get until they open it.

Sales surged. The formula worked: scarcity + surprise = obsession. Ning had found the blueprint.

By 2020, Pop Mart went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ning became a billionaire—but he didn’t stop there. In 2024, Pop Mart launched quietly in the U.S. with little fanfare. No influencers, no major campaigns. Just the product and the gamble.

Then came May 2025. The Pop Mart app exploded on TikTok. Limited drops, surprise unboxings, collector culture, and celeb validation converged. Labubu became the face of the wave.

Labubu, Pop Mart’s breakout character, helped turn Wing Ning into China’s youngest billionaire.

In a single day, Ning’s net worth surged by $1.6 billion. Pop Mart had transformed toy-buying into a dopamine-heavy experience. Joy, curiosity, and obsession—more potent than any marketing plan.

Achievements & Recognition

Pop Mart is now active in 25+ countries
IPO in 2020 raised over $600M
Forbes China Rich List regular
Collaborations with KAWS and Supreme
Labubu dubbed the “Beanie Baby of the digital age”

What sets Ning apart is his patience. He didn’t rush to scale. He waited until culture caught up with the brand—and then hit the gas.

Pop Mart flagship store in Beijing with fans lining up

Pop Mart flagship store — a common scene across Asia and now the U.S.

Endorsements & Royalties Revenue

Pop Mart isn’t a celebrity-first brand, but it’s built a business on licensing and fandom:

Strategic deals with Disney and Sanrio
Limited runs with artists and pop culture IPs
Streaming content and animation spin-offs in partnership with Tencent and Bilibili
A booming resale market where rare figures fetch thousands

The real strength lies in repeat behavior. The surprise factor means each box is a hit of curiosity—and it’s habit-forming.

Personal Life

China's youngest Billionaire.

Wing Ning is married with two children and keeps a low profile, rarely giving interviews or appearing at brand events.

There have been quiet clashes in his career. In 2022, he faced a dispute with a designer over early character copyrights. Smaller toy studios have criticized Pop Mart’s growing dominance, but Ning tends not to respond publicly. His focus remains on the product and the strategy.

In interviews, he's spoken about feeling like an outsider during the early years—just a kid with a tiny shop, watching others succeed while his shelves gathered dust.

Real Estate Portfolio

Ning’s property portfolio reflects a mix of lifestyle and strategic presence:

Beijing Residence – $15 million compound with a sculpture garden and design studio
The Peak, Hong Kong – A $26 million penthouse with full harbor views
Tokyo Apartment, Shibuya – $8 million high-rise near flagship store
Bel Air Mansion – $12.5 million modern villa with custom Labubu art pieces

All homes are private but consistently mentioned in property circles due to their architectural style and curated interiors.

Other Major Assets

Though not flashy by Silicon Valley standards, Ning has collected high-value assets with taste and purpose:

Gulfstream G550 Jet – $62 million private plane used for Asia-to-U.S. brand oversight
Azimut Grande Yacht – $18 million luxury vessel named “Labubu One”
Original Art Collection – Includes pieces from Takashi Murakami and Hajime Sorayama
Rare Toy Archive – A private collection of Pop Mart prototypes, early character drafts, and concept art, valued at over $10M

He’s also a noted Bearbrick collector and occasional buyer of vintage Rolex watches.

Gulfstream G550 jet used by business executives

Ning’s Gulfstream G550 jet reflects the scale of Pop Mart’s international expansion.

In Summary

Wing Ning is no longer the kid behind a kiosk selling slow-moving toy stock. He’s now the face of a $9 billion brand that rewrote how consumer joy can be packaged and sold. His net worth sits at $3.8 billion in mid-2025—and shows no signs of slowing.

Pop Mart didn’t just launch a product. It built a system of excitement, scarcity, and collectability. It didn’t need a commercial. It needed curiosity. And that proved more effective than any campaign.