She Quit School, Earned Rs 100 A Day. Today She's China's Richest Woman

In a classic rags-to-riches story from China, a woman who once worked as a factory worker has become the richest woman in the country. Zhou Qunfei, a 56-year-old who dropped out of school and started her career on a factory floor, has topped the list of China's wealthiest women.

Ms Zhou, the founder of glass manufacturing giant Lens Technology, has reclaimed her position as China's richest woman with an estimated fortune of 127 billion yuan, about Rs 1,80,692 Crore.

According to a report by The Independent, the Hurun Richest Women in China 2026 list, published on October 28, showed that her wealth increased by 15% over the past year, placing her slightly ahead of Hansoh Pharmaceutical founder Zhong Huijuan, whose fortune is estimated at 124 billion yuan (approximately Rs 1,76,424 Crore). 

Ms Zhou previously held the title in 2015.

According to The Independent, Hurun, a global research and publishing institute, has been publishing its list of the country's richest women since 1999. It said on its website that the list is distinct from the overall China Rich List because, "unlike the main [list] which ranks families and couples together, the women's list carves out the individual wealth of each woman that can be separated from the family's wealth".

Born in Hunan in 1970, Zhou Qunfei left school as a teenager and moved to Shenzhen, where she worked in a watch-glass factory for about $1.20 (Rs 114) a day. At 23, she started her own glass-processing workshop and taught herself advanced manufacturing techniques. 

She later co-founded Lens Technology, which grew into a leading supplier of smartphone glass screens. The company achieved rapid success after securing a deal to supply glass covers for Apple's first iPhones in 2007. 

Apple's business became a major revenue driver for Lens Technology, helping transform Zhou from a factory worker and school dropout into China's richest woman.

According to Hurun, 65 per cent of the 50 richest women in the country were self-made, with their collective wealth reaching a record 1.93 trillion yuan (or about Rs 27,45,952 Crore).