Once upon a time, Zhou Qunfei, a woman who worked as a simple employee in a factory and dropped out of school halfway through her education, has today reemerged through perseverance as China’s richest woman.
Now 56, Zhou Qunfei, the founder of the renowned glass manufacturing company Lens Technology, has topped this list with a net worth of about 127 billion yuan (approximately Rs. 1,80,692 crore in Indian currency). Her life stands as an inspiring story of rising from ordinary beginnings to the very top.

This information has been confirmed in the 'China's Richest Women 2026' list released on October 28 by the global research firm Hurun. The report notes that Xu Kunfei's wealth increased by 15% in just the past year. Following her, the founder of Hansoh Pharmaceutical, Zhong Huijuan, is in second place with a net worth of 124 billion yuan (approximately Rs. 1,76,424 crore). It is noteworthy that Xu Kunfei had also won this title in 2015.
Born in Hunan Province in 1970, Xu Kunfei dropped out of school at a young age and moved to Shenzhen. There, he worked in a watch crystal manufacturing factory for a daily wage of just $1.20 (about 114 rupees in Indian currency). At the age of 23, he started his own glass workshop and taught himself advanced manufacturing techniques.
Later, after co-founding Lens Technology, she developed it into a leading company in the production of glass screens for smartphones. Her company’s fortunes changed completely when it won a contract in 2007 to supply glass covers for Apple’s first iPhone. Business with Apple multiplied Lens Technology’s revenue many times over. As a result, Xu, who had once been an ordinary factory worker, emerged as China’s richest woman.

Hurun has been publishing this list of wealthy women since 1999. It differs from the main list, which calculates the total wealth of a family; this one separately calculates only each woman’s personal net worth. The Hurun report says that 65 percent of the 50 richest women on this year’s list are self-made, and that their combined net worth has reached a new record of 1.93 trillion yuan (about Rs. 27,45,952 crore). This has become an excellent example of women’s entrepreneurship and economic growth in China.
