China rags-to-riches narratives spotlight first woman billionaire and peasant turned tycoon
From paper tycoon to sanitary pad magnate, the Post takes a look at four people in China who came from nothing to riches
Despite their products being known nationwide and associated with the day-to-day lives of people in China, few are aware of the rags-to-riches stories of the businesspeople behind them.
Their journeys exemplify how vision and determination can turn into success and symbolise entrepreneurial resilience in China.
The Post highlights four inspiring Chinese tycoons who have reached the top of their respective fields.
Zhang Yin
Known as the “Paper Queen”, Zhang Yin began her career collecting scrap paper and rose to become China’s richest person in 2006, the first woman to earn the title.
Born in 1957 in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, southern China, Zhang had a challenging childhood, and took on significant responsibilities as the eldest of seven siblings.
After graduating from university, she gave up a finance job position in Shenzhen, southern China, before moving to Hong Kong with only 30,000 yuan (US$4,200), venturing into the waste paper recycling business.
Zhang now serves as the chairman of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited and was listed to have a net worth of 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.4 billion) by the Hurun Research Institute as of March this year.
Xu Lianjie
Known as the “Min Nan Business Godfather”, Xu Lianjie, 71, was once the richest person in Fujian province in southeast China. He began his career as a peasant worker and later made a fortune selling sanitary pads.
