*I'd wager that even women who follow business news quite closely are unaware of Zhang Yin. Not just that she's the richest businesswoman in the world, and also Chinese, but that she's in the scrap-paper racket, which is traditionally the meager job of the absolutely poorest women in the world.
*Makes one wonder how many more of these remarkable economic inversions await us in future. Wait a sec – I've got a great idea! Why don't we abolish newspapers, so that we have no actual reporting and we don't even know about it?
*That'll knock the scrap-paper trade way back, too!
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_589625.html
BEIJING - MORE than half of the 20 richest self-made women in the world are Chinese, with their average fortune beating that of US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and author JK Rowling, a list showed on Tuesday.
The three richest women on the planet are Chinese, led by paper-recycling queen Zhang Yin who has a personal fortune of US$5.6 billion (S$7.32 billion), according to the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, which compiles data on wealthy individuals. (((Not that I would call these Shanghai-based economic numbers into any doubt, or anything.)))
Of the 20 richest self-made female billionaires, 11 are Chinese with an average wealth of US$2.6 billion - compared with Winfrey who ranked ninth on the list with US$2.3 billion, the report said. ((("Oprah who?")))
JK Rowling, author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books, was at the bottom of the list, with US$1 billion. 'There is no other country that comes even close to touching the number of self-made women in China. They are now head and shoulders above any other country,' said Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and compiler of the Hurun rich list. (((Not only that, but they get to scrap unsold and discarded Rowling novels – so they'll be waitin' for you, Harry Potter. I'd also point out that Rowling wrote her first novel while she was unemployed and on welfare.)))
The list includes three billionaires from the United States, three from Britain and one each from Italy, Russia and Spain. The richest non-Chinese person on the list was Rosalia Mera of Spanish clothing store Zara with US$3.5 billion.
Mr Hoogewerf partly attributed the success of Chinese women in business to the government's one-child policy and free childcare provided by many grandparents, which has enabled them to spend time building their empires. 'That makes a huge difference,' Mr Hoogewerf told AFP, adding that China's long acceptance of women working outside the home has been another significant factor in their success. (((I'd be betting that this perkily affirmative approach is news to Chinese businesswomen.))) – AFP
