The title of China's richest woman has changed hands.
The richest woman in China has a new successor.
Recently, Hurun Research Institute released the *2026 Hurun China Richest Women List*. Zhou Qunfei, founder of Lens Technology, has become the new top richest woman in China with a personal wealth of 127 billion yuan. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time Zhou Qunfei has climbed to the top of the richest woman throne after 2015, returning to the peak after a 11-year gap.
Also brought into the spotlight is Lens Technology, the enterprise built from scratch by Zhou Qunfei. At present, Lens Technology is a leading "Apple supply chain" giant listed on both A-share and H-share markets, whose business has extended from mobile phone glass to new sectors including AI intelligent terminals and AI servers.
Zhou Qunfei is not the only figure standing at the top of the list.
Zhong Huijuan from Hansoh Pharmaceutical, Kwong Siu-hing from Sun Hung Kai Properties, Wang Laichun from Luxshare Precision, Zong Fuli from Wahaha, Wang Sihan from Hongren, Wang Xin from Dingtai High-Tech... The tracks they cover span from pharmaceuticals to real estate, from consumer electronics to PCB, and from daily consumer goods to electronic components. A group of female leaders are steering well-known enterprises in their respective fields.
These female leaders, whose personal wealth ranges from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of yuan, hold up half the sky in the business world across manufacturing, pharmaceutical, consumer and technology sectors, and make "her power" an increasingly distinct landscape in the capital market.
127 Billion Yuan, The Richest Woman Has A New Successor
The story of the newly crowned richest woman is actually a "powerhouse female struggle epic" about founder Zhou Qunfei.
Zhou Qunfei did not start at a high point, and her early life was even full of thorns. Born in 1970 in a poor mountain village in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, she lost her mother at the age of 5, and her father lost his eyesight in an accident. The heavy burden of life fell on Zhou Qunfei's young shoulders very early. To make a living, 15-year-old Zhou Qunfei resolutely dropped out of school after finishing the second year of junior high, and joined the wave of migrant workers heading south.
As many netizens from Hunan said, "The coming-of-age ceremony for people from Hunan is a train ticket to Guangdong". The young Zhou Qunfei back then was no exception. A train ticket carried her quickly to the adult world far away.
After arriving in Shenzhen, Zhou Qunfei's first formal job was cutting and polishing glass on the assembly line of Aoya Optics.
During her years working at Aoya Optics, Zhou Qunfei showed extraordinary diligence and intelligence far beyond ordinary people very early. In just four years, she not only became the supervisor of the factory, but also attended night schools in her spare time, learned accounting, mastered computer skills, and self-studied screen printing technology. These skills, like seeds of hope, took root quietly in her heart.
The turning point of fate came in 1990. Aoya Optics, where Zhou Qunfei worked, was preparing to expand its processing plant for higher production back then. However, the boss at that time was confused and worried about the future, and planned to withdraw capital and suspend production. Learning this news, Zhou Qunfei did not hesitate to find the boss, and said firmly: "Give this factory to me. If I can't make it profitable, all losses are on me. If I run it well, you can pay me whatever salary you think is appropriate."
After taking over the factory, Zhou Qunfei applied the screen printing technology she had mastered, and pioneered printing words and patterns on watch glass. Products of this innovative mode were extremely rare in the market, and were quickly snapped up. With continuous technological improvement, the factory operated by Zhou Qunfei became the most profitable plant of the whole company. However, good times did not last long. Internal strife among the company's management became increasingly serious, and finally Zhou Qunfei had to choose to leave, starting her own entrepreneurial journey with only her tiny meager savings.
The year 2001 was another key turning point for Zhou Qunfei. At a friend's gathering, an old friend received an order for TCL flip phone panel design, and he thought of Zhou Qunfei immediately. This incident completely reversed the main business line of the company that originally only did watch glass processing.
At that time, Zhou Qunfei had not yet developed mobile phone glass technology, but with her keen business sense and courageous spirit of trial, she quickly applied the watch glass process to mobile phones. After many attempts and failures, she finally succeeded in research and development, and rushed to produce this batch of mobile phone glass products. This feat also made Lens Technology an early pioneer in this field.
In 2003, Zhou Qunfei invested with technology and equipment, and co-founded Lens Technology with partners, focusing on mobile phone protective window glass. However, the start was not smooth. Her partner withdrew in time and recalled the capital, and Lens Technology once faced the crisis of bankruptcy.
Fortunately, fate always favors hardworking people. A large international order pulled Lens Technology back from the edge of the cliff. In 2004, Motorola approached Zhou Qunfei, requiring the mobile phone glass not to break when falling vertically from a certain height. After days and nights of R&D and attempts, Zhou Qunfei successfully took this order. The first batch of supply was a great success, and Lens Technology immediately became the focus of the industry. Later, with the rise of smart touchscreen phones represented by iPhone, Lens Technology, which had deep roots in glass technology, became the main supplier of iPhone.
On March 18, 2015, Lens Technology was listed on the ChiNext Board of Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In October of the same year, the *2015 Hurun China Richest Women List* was released, and Zhou Qunfei topped the list of "richest woman" with a wealth of 50 billion yuan. For more than ten years after that, the top position changed hands several times. She always stayed on the rich list, but never returned to the highest position.
In 2026, Zhou Qunfei topped the list again with 127 billion yuan, exactly 11 years after her last coronation.
100-Billion-Yuan Lens Technology, More Than "Apple Supply Chain"
Lens Technology, led by the richest woman, is a super leading enterprise with a market value of over 100 billion yuan. Calculated based on the closing price on November 2, its total market value exceeds 130 billion yuan.
When talking about this 100-billion-yuan leading enterprise, the "Apple supply chain" is an unavoidable topic.
In 2006, Apple decided to switch to glass cover plate on the first-generation iPhone, replacing the originally planned hard-coated plastic material. At that time, there were very few manufacturers in the world that were capable of precision processing of large-size glass. With deep technical reserves in the field of glass processing, Lens Technology launched project cooperation with Apple.
Later, Jeff Williams, then COO of Apple, recalled the details of iPhone R&D in those years and said, "We decided at the last minute to use glass instead of hard-coated plastic for the screen cover. During that period in China, it was amazing to see suppliers working hard to do things that had never been done before. Drilling holes in glass, reinforcing it, and then producing glass panels, which laid the foundation for mobile phone manufacturing all over the world."
The supplier Williams mentioned is exactly Lens Technology.
In this year, Lens Technology took the lead in applying CNC technology to glass processing, created the unique ultrasonic drilling technology, and independently developed supporting ink, which was recognized by Apple and made it one of the earliest suppliers that Apple cooperated with in mainland China. Therefore, starting from the first-generation iPhone, Lens Technology has almost participated in the R&D and production of every new product of Apple, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and many other Apple products.
In the process of cooperation, Lens Technology provided Apple with high-quality key components such as glass panels and back cover glass, and continuously promoted technological innovation. For example, it realized dual-temperature pressure maintaining on the pressure maintaining station of the iPhone back cover glass assembly line, which improved production efficiency and product quality.
However, Lens Technology's dependence on Apple did not come without a price. In 2016, when iPhone sales saw their first decline since its release in 2007, Lens Technology's orders from Apple dropped sharply, which indirectly led to the first annual negative revenue growth of the company since its listing.
Therefore, for many years in the past, in order to get rid of the stereotype that Lens Technology "thrives on the Apple supply chain and fails because of it", Lens Technology has made many attempts to "de-Appleize".
Specifically, in recent years, while sticking to its main business, Lens Technology has continuously deepened vertical integration to expand its business scope. In the new energy vehicle sector, Lens Technology has established cooperative relations with many well-known domestic and foreign auto brands such as Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BYD. In the humanoid robot sector, the revenue of its robot subsidiary exceeded 1 billion yuan in 2025, and the annual shipment of humanoid plus quadruped robots exceeded 10,000 units.
As Lens Technology introduced, "Our business covers structural parts, functional modules, complete machine assembly and other services for products including AI intelligent terminals (including smartphones, AI glasses, smart vehicles, embodied intelligence, etc.), AI servers, commercial aerospace and so on."
"Her Power" In The Capital Market
From a migrant girl in a mountain village in Xiangxiang to the richest woman, Zhou Qunfei has written a legendary story through decades of struggle.
If we take a broader view, we will find that Zhou Qunfei is not an isolated case.
Looking closely at this newly released Hurun China Richest Women List: the total wealth of the top 50 female entrepreneurs reached 1.93 trillion yuan, hitting a record high, with an average wealth of 38.6 billion yuan and a listing threshold of 16.5 billion yuan. Right behind Zhou Qunfei are Zhong Huijuan (Hansoh Pharmaceutical, 124 billion yuan), Kwong Siu-hing (Sun Hung Kai Properties, 96 billion yuan), Wang Laichun (Luxshare Precision, 90 billion yuan), Zong Fuli (Wahaha, 83.5 billion yuan), Wang Sihan (Hongren, 79.5 billion yuan), Wang Xin (Dingtai High-Tech, 76.5 billion yuan), Fan Hongwei (Hengli, 65 billion yuan), and Zeng Fangqin (Lingyi iTech, 56 billion yuan).
Almost all their names are tied to capital-favored tracks such as PCB, consumer electronics and pharmaceuticals. The AI wave has pushed up the valuation of companies in the electronic industry chain, and also driven the wealth of a group of female leaders to rise accordingly.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Research Officer of Hurun Group, said: "Zhou Qunfei has become the richest woman in China for the second time. When she first topped the list in 2015, Lens Technology had just been listed, and she was an iconic figure in the smartphone supply chain. 11 years later, she returned to the top of the list relying on AI hardware, smart vehicle displays and smart glasses."
In Rupert Hoogewerf's view, over the past 20 years, a total of 8 women have topped this list - Yang Huiyan 10 times, Zhang Yin 3 times, Wu Yajun and Zhou Qunfei 2 times each, and Chen Lihua, Kwong Siu-hing, Zong Fuli and Zhong Huijuan once each. The industries behind them have evolved from packaging, real estate, pharmaceuticals and beverages all the way to electronics. The change of the richest woman's crown precisely reflects the changes of China's economy itself.
Looking at the entire secondary market, the figure of Chinese women is becoming increasingly prominent. According to data from Tonghuashun iFinD, as of March 6, 2026, a total of 388 listed companies on A-share market are led by female chairpersons, with a combined market value of 6.43 trillion yuan. Among them, 4 companies including PICC, Luxshare Precision, Haitian Flavouring & Food and Gree Electric have a market value of over 200 billion yuan, and another 8 companies have a market value of over 100 billion yuan.
Before an enterprise goes to the capital market, there is often another group of women who appear at an earlier stage - investors.
In 2025, China's equity investment entered the deep-water zone that emphasizes both quality and efficiency. As the industry chases certainty in the hard technology wave and seeks anchors amid cyclical fluctuations, female investors are participating in it in different ways: they do not win by high exposure, but penetrate the surface of business with deep empathy; they do not rely on short-term games, but build trust through long-term companionship; they do not only focus on financial returns, but are more committed to building a multi-win innovative ecosystem. They are good at listening, good at capturing the resilience, values and growth potential of the team beyond data, build trust with clear and transparent communication, fulfill commitments with meticulous empowerment, and convert "capital" into "partners".
This is also the group that the "China's Best Female Investors List" by The Capital intends to record. Over the past 7 years, The Capital Research has released the annual list on International Women's Day relying on authoritative data, questionnaires and multi-dimensional indicators, and hundreds of outstanding female investor representatives have been selected into this list. Their layouts extend from hard technology and artificial intelligence to cutting-edge tracks such as green technology. The list aims to illustrate the rise of an investment philosophy: rational yet warm, firm and inclusive, enterprising and responsible.
The *2025 Annual China's Best Female Investors List* released by The Capital in 2026 records a group of such women who have been deeply engaged in the primary market. They made early layouts in tracks such as hard technology, artificial intelligence and green technology, and accompanied entrepreneurs all the way to the capital market.
From Zhou Qunfei and her peers with 100-billion-yuan net worth, to female chairpersons in listed companies, and then to female investors in the primary market, they are not only "female entrepreneurs" and "female investors", but also people who rewrite the rules of business and capital in their own way.
This article is from WeChat official account "The Capital" (ID: thecapital), written by Feng Xiaoting, and authorized for release by 36Kr.