Wu Yajun & family (吳亞軍夫婦)

Age: 47

2011 net worth (US$): 5.9 billion

2010 net worth (US$): 4.7 billion

General ranking: 7

Company: Longfor Properties

Headquarters: Beijing

Title: Chairwoman

Main focus: Real estate

Wu Yajun is the richest Chinese woman again this year. After graduating from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1984, Wu worked as a mechanical engineer, media reporter and editor until 1993, when she began working in property development. A year later, she founded Longfor in her hometown, Chongqing. Her knack for learning and innovation led to the success of her first project, Longhu Garden, in 1995, which made the brand well-known in the local market.

Starting from scratch, Wu has developed Longfor from a small company into a famous business empire in China over the last 16 years. The company's core business consists of property development, commercial operations and property management. In 2010, its sales revenue surged 81 percent from a year earlier to US$4.9 billion. Wu and her family now hold a 76-percent stake in the company, which went public in Hong Kong in 2009.