Chen Lihua

Chen Lihua (; born 1941), rendered Chan Laiwa in Cantonese, is the founder and chairman of Fuwah International Group, one of Beijing's largest commercial property developers. In 2014, Forbes ranked her as the 10th richest mainland Chinese, the richest woman in China, and one of only 19 female billionaires in the world who did not inherit their billionaire status. In 2015, touchscreen entrepreneur Zhou Qunfei surpassed Chen as China's richest woman. Chen is the founder and curator of the China Red Sandalwood Museum. Early life Chen Lihua was born in 1941 in the Summer Palace of Beijing, China. She is a descendant of a noble Manchu family of the Qing dynasty. When the Manchu Qing dynasty collapsed, her family lost their estates and became poor. Rise from poverty Poverty forced Chen to leave high school and started her own furniture repair business. In the early 1980s, Chen moved to Hong Kong and continue her business of buying and re-selling furniture. Her business in Hong Kong was successful enough that she accumulated enough money to buy 12 villas.