72 billion! China's richest woman has been replaced

On November 14, the Hurun Research Institute released the "2023 Hurose Club Women Entrepreneur List" (Herose Club · Hurun Richest Women in China 2023), listing the top 50 female entrepreneurs on this year's Hurun Report. Sun Hung Kai founder Kwok Tak-shing's wife, Kwong Xiaoqing, rose her fortune by 2.5 billion yuan to 72 billion yuan, becoming the richest woman in China for the first time. Last year, the richest woman Yang Huiyan's wealth shrank by 27 billion yuan, ranking fifth with 48 billion.

Kwong Xiaoqing. Data map

The list shows that Sun Hung Kai's 94-year-old Kwong Xiaoqing became the richest woman in China for the first time with a wealth of 72 billion yuan, up two places from last year, mainly benefiting from the rise in the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate and the company's dividends this year. Kwong Xiaoqing became the sixth richest woman in China in the 18 years of the Hurun Women Entrepreneurs List, the top five are Zhang Yin (three times), Yang Huiyan (ten times), Wu Yajun (twice), Zhou Qunfei (once), and Chen Lihua (once). She is also ranked in the top 50 of the "2023 Hengchang Burnt Fang Hurun Report".

Kwong is the wife of entrepreneur Sun Hung Kai Properties founder Kwok Tak-shing. In 1963, Kwok and his friends Lee Shau Kee and Fung King Hei co-founded Sun Hung Kai & Company. In the 70s, the trio parted ways and went their separate ways. Guo Desheng died in 1990. Kwong holds shares in Sun Hung Kai Properties through a trust fund and is the largest shareholder of Sun Hung Kai Properties.

Country Garden's 42-year-old Yang Huiyan's wealth fell by 27 billion yuan, ranking fifth with 48 billion yuan, down 4 places from last year, and her wealth shrank by nearly 4%. In the first half of this year, there was a lot of negative news from Country Garden, and the company faced a series of crises. In the first half of this year, Country Garden achieved total revenue of approximately RMB230 billion, up 39% year-on-year, and loss attributable to shareholders of the Company of approximately RMB49 billion. In July this year, Yang Guoqiang and Yang Huiyan, father and daughter, donated nearly 6 billion shares worth of Country Garden Services to Guoqiang Public Welfare Foundation (Hong Kong).

Also rising in the rankings are Fuhua's 82-year-old Chen Lihua, who ranks third with a wealth of 58 billion yuan, Wang Laichun, 56, who is 56 years old of Lixun Precision, ranks fourth with 53 billion yuan, and Yan Xin, 40, who is 40 years old of Sushang Group, ranks seventh with 47 billion yuan. Among those who fell in the rankings were Zhong Huijuan, 62, ranked eighth with 42 billion yuan, and Jian Jun, 60, ranked tenth with 37.5 billion yuan. Zheng Shuliang, Zhang Hongxia, Zhang Yanhong's mother and daughter of Weiqiao Entrepreneurship and Zhou Qunfei, 53 years old of Lens Technology, are two newcomers in the top ten.

According to the list, the total wealth of the top 50 Chinese women entrepreneurs is 1.37 trillion yuan, down 11% from last year. The threshold for the top 50 was 13.5 billion yuan, down 500 million yuan (4%) from last year.

20 people have increased their wealth from last year, including 8 newcomers. The 76-year-old Song Chuanying of Xinfa Aluminum and Electric has increased his wealth the most, with an increase of 8 billion. Other female entrepreneurs who have grown more include Zhou Qunfei, 53, of Lens Technology, and Zeng Fangqin, 58, of Lingyi Zhizao, both of whom have increased by 5 billion. Among the top 50 male entrepreneurs this year, Huang Zheng saw the largest increase in wealth, with an increase of 100 billion, followed by Ma Huateng and Ding Lei, with an increase of 65 billion and 45 billion respectively.

40 of them have shrunk or remained unchanged from last year, and 9 of them have fallen off the list this year. The wealth shrank the most is Country Garden's 42-year-old Yang Huiyan, who has shrunk by 27 billion, followed by 53-year-old Cheng Xue of Haitian Flavor Industry, whose performance has declined due to the additive incident, with a shrunk of 16.5 billion, and Zhao Yan, 57, who has shrunk by 14.5 billion.

The 9 losers belong to different industries, including Li Xue of Enjie in the packaging industry, Li Xiyan of LONGi in the photovoltaic industry, etc.

Real estate continues to be the number one source of wealth for women entrepreneurs, with the highest share of the top 50 women entrepreneurs, with the real estate sector ranking first with 17 percent, and consumer goods and energy tied for second place with 13 percent. Among the top 50 male entrepreneurs on the Hurun Report, the food and beverage industry and the media and entertainment industry accounted for the highest proportion, with 14% and 12% respectively, and real estate ranked sixth with 6%.

Among the top 50 female entrepreneurs, 59% are self-made, such as Wu Yajun of Longfor, Chen Lihua of Fuhua and Wang Laichun of Luxshare Precision, or they started their own businesses with their husbands, such as Fan Hongwei of Hengli, Guan Yamei of Tongwei and Pan Dong of Blue Moon. In addition, 41% are inherited wealth, such as Zong Fuli of Wahaha, Yang Huiyan of Country Garden, etc., or widows or are considered to own part of the husband's assets (Chen Jinxia of Yongjin).

The average age of the top 50 female entrepreneurs is 57, the same as last year, and five years younger than the average age of the top 50 male entrepreneurs on the Hurun Report. The youngest self-made female entrepreneur is Anta's 48-year-old Ding Yali.

This year's better female entrepreneurs are mainly from the Apple industry chain, including Zhou Qunfei of Lens Technology and Zeng Fangqin of Lingyi Zhizao, the second is He Chaoqiong of MGM China, Li Haiyan and Shu Ping of Haidilao, who have benefited from the recovery of the entertainment and catering industries, and the third is Ma Dongmin of Baidu, which is driven by ChatGPT.

Source: China City Daily, Hurun Report, Red Star News, Xiaoxiang Morning News