Wu Yajun

Wu Yajun (Chinese: 吴亚军; born 1964) is a Chinese businesswoman, co-founder, former CEO and current chairwoman of Longfor Properties. She is the third richest woman in China, and the 22nd richest overall, according to the Hurun Report China Rich List 2013. In 2012, She held the title of richest woman in China, as well as fifth richest person in China. She lost that position to Yang Huiyan due to her divorce from Cai Kui, positioning herself as second richest woman in China. As of March 2013 she was the 299th richest person in the world, and among the top 50 Power-women list by Forbes, with a net worth of US$ 4.4 billion. She is a member of the National People's Congress. In 2014, she was listed as the 41st most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Early life

Wu was born in Chongqing in 1964 to an ordinary family. She graduated from the Department of Navigation Engineering of the Northwestern Polytechnical University (西北工业大学) in 1984.

Career

From 1984 to 1988 she worked at the Qianwei Meter Factory. From 1988 to 1993 she worked as a journalist and editor at the China Shirong News Agency. At the time the newspaper was controlled by the Construction Bureau of Chongqing Municipal Government, which proved essential for her in building up her network in the government and business world to then launch her career in the real estate industry.