Zhou Qunfei

China’s richest self-made woman used to work for $1/day in a factory. Now her company has a market cap of $20B.

Born in a tiny village in Hunan province in 1970, Zhou Qunfei used to raise pigs and ducks to support her family.

Her mother died when she was five.

Her father, a former soldier, had lost a finger and most of his eyesight in an industrial accident before she was born.

He made bamboo chairs and baskets to get by.

Zhou dropped out of school at 16.

Moved nearly 900 miles south to Shenzhen.

And worked in a small factory making watch lenses for about 180 yuan/month (roughly $1/day).

She worked 16 to 18 hours a day.

But every night, after her shift, she took classes in accounting, computer operations, and customs processing.

When her first factory shut down, Zhou decided to start her own.

In 1993, at just 22, she launched a tiny lens workshop out of a three-bedroom apartment.

She used her HK$20,000 (~US$3,000) in savings.

She learned every technical detail. Repaired machines. Designed better ones. Trained employees herself.

In 2001, her startup won its first big order: producing phone screens for TCL.

Then, in 2003, Motorola called.

They needed glass screens for the Razr V3, the world’s first major phone to ditch plastic for glass.

Zhou said yes.

Then came the ambush.

A business rival conspired with her raw material supplier.

They demanded full payment upfront.

It was a trap designed to bankrupt her.

She sold her house.

Her valuables.

She sent Motorola an email detailing what had happened.

Thankfully, they backed her.

The order finally went through.

Then came HTC. Nokia. Samsung. And in 2007, Apple.

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone with a glass touchscreen.

Apple needed a reliable, high-precision supplier.

They chose Zhou.

Her company, Lens Technology, manufactured the glass screens for iPhones, Apple Watches, and countless other devices.

By 2015, Lens Technology had 90,000+ employees and 32 factories.

It went public on the Shenzhen ChiNext board.

The stock price rose 44% on day one, then hit the daily limit for 13 days straight.

Zhou held 87.9% of the company.

Her stake was worth $7.2B.

She had become the richest self-made woman in China.

Her clients now include Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Tesla, and BYD.

In 2024, her company completed a $607M IPO in Hong Kong, attracting investment from Xiaomi and UBS.

She still leads from the factory floor.

And she’s known for her elegance and her extreme humility.