Zhong Huijuan
钟慧娟
BornApril 1961 (age 62)[1][2]
Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China
NationalityChinese
Alma materJiangsu Normal University (Bachelor's), Nanjing University (Master's)[3]
Occupation(s)Chair and CEO of Hansoh Pharmaceutical
SpouseSun Piaoyang
ChildrenSun Yuan
Zhong Huijuan
Traditional Chinese鐘慧娟
Simplified Chinese钟慧娟

Zhong Huijuan (Chinese: 钟慧娟; born April 1961) is a Chinese pharmaceutical executive, billionaire, and the world's richest self-made woman.[4] She is the founder, CEO, and chair of Hansoh Pharmaceutical, which is headquartered in Lianyungang and is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[5][6][7] She is the company's majority shareholder, with a 66% stake.[1] In 2021, she was the world's 89th richest person according to Forbes, with a net worth of US$19.7 billion.[8]

Education and career

Born in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province,[9][10] Zhong studied chemistry at Jiangsu Normal University and graduated in July 1982.[11] She then worked as a chemistry teacher at Yan'an Middle School in Lianyungang.[11] At the same time, Sun Piaoyang, her husband, was the manager of a state-owned pharmaceutical factory in the same city.[1][12] (That factory would eventually become Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, the largest listed pharmaceutical company in China.[9][13])

In 1995, Sun and an investor from Hong Kong started a new pharmaceutical company, which would become Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group (豪森药业, later restructured as 翰森制药集团). But because Sun still worked at the state-owned factory, he found himself too busy to manage the new company.[9][10][12] This was Zhong's opportunity to enter the pharmaceutical industry: she left her job as a teacher to run the fledgling company as a founder.[1][10][12]

The company had only about ten employees at first,[14] but it grew rapidly, and by 1997 it had US$4.5 million in revenue.[1] To help the company grow, Zhong reinvested 5% of sales revenue into R&D, developing products including antibiotics, cancer treatments, and psychotropic, endocrine, and gastrointestinal drugs.[14] The R&D budget later grew to nearly 10% of revenue, an unusually high level for a Chinese pharmaceutical company.[12]

Hansoh Pharmaceutical had its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2019 and raised US$1 billion. This made Zhong the richest self-made woman in Asia, with a net worth of US$10.5 billion (greater than her husband's fortune of US$9.4 billion).[1][5]

By 2019, the company had become the largest producer of psychotropic drugs in China.[11] Zhong owns 66% of the company through the Sunrise Trust, registered in the British Virgin Islands.[1] Her wealth grew significantly in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16] In that year, she was the world's 9th richest woman according to Forbes, as well as the 20th richest person in China according to Hurun.[6][17][18]

Recognition

In 2007, Zhong received the March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter award (三八红旗手), which recognizes outstanding working women in China.[9]

Personal life

Zhong's husband, Sun Piaoyang, is also a billionaire and is the chair of Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine.[6] Zhong and Sun are relatively private and rarely give interviews.[9] Their daughter Sun Yuan (孙远) is Hansoh Pharmaceutical's executive director and also owns a stake in the company.[5][19]

Zhong lives in Shanghai.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "How chemistry teacher Zhong Huijuan became the world's richest self-made woman". South China Morning Post. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "她是江苏省女首富 身家高达200亿，丈夫也是牛人！". www.sohu.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "Huijuan Zhong, Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Co Ltd: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "China home to 61% of world's self-made woman billionaires | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Zhong Huijuan". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Stoller, Kristin. "The Top 10 Richest Women In The World 2020". Forbes. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "瀚森制药钟慧娟比迈瑞李西廷、恒瑞孙飘扬更有钱 医药股能否延续?". finance.sina.com.cn. 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Zhong Huijuan". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "这对药王夫妇，身家2500亿". 猎云网. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "钟慧娟：中国药神家族的"半边天"_财富号_东方财富网". caifuhao.eastmoney.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "Chem teacher behind pharmaceutical firm to be China's third-richest woman". South China Morning Post. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "钟慧娟：从化学老师到新晋女首富". finance.sina.com.cn. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "中国最牛"夫妻店"：日赚2亿，一人一家上市公司，掌管2500亿！". finance.sina.cn. 13 December 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  14. 1 2 "钟慧娟：事业之花在创新中怒放". www.women.org.cn. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Top 10 richest women in the world". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  16. ↑ Cuccinello, Hayley C. "As Coronavirus Outbreak Spread, 10 Chinese Billionaires Including Tencent's Pony Ma Defied Odds And Gained Billions In The Past Week". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Forbes Billionaires 2020". Forbes. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "胡润百富 – 榜单". www.hurun.net. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  19. ↑ "第一代中国医疗创业人逐渐隐退，后浪们能否顶上？". finance.sina.com.cn. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
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