China's richest person is 26

Beijing - A 26-year-old female property developer tops this year's Forbes list of the richest people in China, grabbing the number one spot with a net worth of $16-billion (about R109-billion), the United States magazine said on Monday.

That amount also makes Yang Huiyan the richest woman in Asia, according to a statement from Forbes.

All the 40 people on Forbes Asia's 2007 China Rich List are billionaires, compared with only 15 last year, it said, attributing the rise to a boom in the nation's stock and property markets.

Their combined net worth is RMB120-billion (about USD16 Billions), up more than three times from last year's RMB38-billion, it said.

Yang is one of more than a dozen property developers to make this year's list of the 40 richest, reflecting roaring demand for homes and real estate investments, according to Forbes.

"Household incomes are rising rapidly, and a growing number of people are moving into cities from rural areas," said Russell Flannery, compiler of the China Rich list.

"Those trends are creating great business opportunity for property developers in the country."

Yang is the daughter of Yeung Kwok Keung, the co-founder of Country Garden Holdings, a property development firm.

i wonder if she inherited most of that from her father's previous business dealings or is that all hers?  pretty good chunck of change.

Actually her dad transferred her his shares, though she is currently an executive director of the company, so I don't think much of this has to do with her own efforts.

I read somewhere else that she just graduated from the same university my brother is studying at (Ohio State University), if by any chance they had hooked up while on campus today I will know where to look at for my venture capital needs, just 0.00..1% of that would be more than enough for me

hey ohio state is in driving distance of new york.  i need to go and pitch my development deals to her.  pat you have done a bad thing.  i'll tell her who told about her whereabouts.

Do not forget me in case you guys get any tips on how to contact her. A 26year old fellow!!! It's worth giving a try. You know, like in the movies....they easily fall for the lower class guys. With her on the same flight with me one could easily act out a new Titanic movie.