In our article titled “Fan Hongwei 101: Famous Entrepreneur and Billionaire,” we will cover everything you need to know in detail about the famous entrepreneur and billionaire, Fan Hongwei, as desired by our readers at Zatrun.com.
Who is Fan Hongwei?
Fan Hongwei (simplified Chinese: 范红卫; traditional Chinese: 范紅衛; pinyin: Fàn Hóngwèi) is a Chinese entrepreneur and billionaire. She is the chairwoman and CEO of Hengli Petrochemical, a chemical fiber company, and the vice chairman of the holding company Hengli Group. Fan was born in February 1967 in Jiangsu Province, China and attended Nanjing Normal University.
In 2019, she was the fourth richest woman in China. Fan’s husband, Chen Jianhua, is also a billionaire. He is the chairman and director of Hengli Group. Their daughter, Chen Yiting, born in 1993, is a board member of Tongli Lake Travel, a subsidiary of Hengli Group. Fan lives in Suzhou.
Career Life:
Fan began her career as an accountant. In 1994, she and her husband borrowed 3 million RMB to purchase Wujiang Chemical Fibre Textile Factory, a failed textile factory in Wujiang, Suzhou. Fan took over as general manager of the factory and, together with Chen, restructured the company, transforming it from a 27-employee factory into one of China’s largest fiber producers and one of the world’s largest weaving companies. The company is now known as Hengli Group, with its main unit being Hengli Petrochemical.
According to the company, Hengli Petrochemical went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing in 2016. In 2019, Hengli Group earned revenues of over 500 billion RMB. Its activities include refining oil to produce polyester, chemical fiber production, and real estate. Its main customers are in the clothing industry, but it also produces chips and filaments for packaging, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. It has factories in Nantong, Suqian, and Suzhou. Fan Hongwei owns 45% of the shares in Hengli Petrochemical. Forbes estimated her and her family’s net worth to be $6 billion in 2020. As of 2021, her net worth is estimated to be $23 billion.
Awards and Achievements:
Fan Hongwei has been recognized for her outstanding achievements and leadership in the business world. In 2020, she was included in Forbes’ list of China’s top 50 CEOs and Fortune’s list of China’s most influential 50 business leaders. That same year, she was ranked sixth on the Hurun list of the world’s wealthiest self-made women with an estimated net worth of 53 billion RMB. Forbes also listed her as one of China’s top 20 businesswomen in 2021. China Daily has also recognized her success, placing her on their list of the top ten richest women three times: she was ranked fifth in 2018, fourth in 2019, and seventh in 2020.
