Zhou Qunfei Reclaims Title of China’s Richest Woman

What changed

Zhou Qunfei, founder and chairwoman of Lens Technology, has reclaimed the title of China’s richest woman, with an estimated fortune of 127 billion yuan (S$24.4 billion), up 15% in a year. She overtook Zhong Huijuan, founder of Hansoh Pharmaceutical, whose wealth is estimated at 124 billion yuan.

Zhou first won the title in 2015. Her latest return follows Lens Technology’s expansion from smartphone glass into electric vehicles, AI-related hardware and robotics, alongside a Hong Kong listing in July 2025 that raised capital for growth.

Why it matters

Zhou’s fortune tracks a bigger industrial bet: China’s manufacturing winners are trying to move beyond the smartphone supply chain before that business becomes a trap.

Lens Technology once depended heavily on Apple. Apple accounted for nearly half of its main-business revenue between 2011 and the first half of 2014, but the company’s share price plunged in 2018 amid US-China trade tensions and concerns about iPhone sales. That episode made the risk plain: a supplier can build a vast business around one global customer, then watch its wealth shrink when geopolitics and consumer demand turn.

The new strategy spreads the bet across more advanced manufacturing. It also carries its own risks. Lens Technology remains exposed to swings in consumer-electronics demand and to a stronger renminbi, which reduces the value of its US-dollar earnings. The report does not quantify how much revenue its AI, electric-vehicle or robotics businesses currently generate, so the scale of the transformation is still unclear.

The informed speculation is that Zhou’s comeback will prove durable only if those newer businesses become substantial rather than simply fashionable labels. If they do, her rise will mark a successful shift from making the glass around other companies’ technology to supplying hardware for the next industrial cycle. If they do not, her wealth may remain tied to the same volatile electronics market that once knocked her from the top spot.

Zhang Yiming, ByteDance’s founder, remains China’s richest person overall, with 670 billion yuan. Even at the top of the women’s ranking, the wider wealth hierarchy remains overwhelmingly male.