Move over, Donald Trump – there’s a new developer in town, according to CNN. Zhang Xin, one of China’s largest developers, who recently nabbed a stake in the General Motors Building in Midtown, has an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, according to a Forbes tally.
Not only does her net worth make her wealthier than the Donald and television giant Oprah Winfrey, it also makes her the world’s seventh richest self-made woman.
Zhang and husband Pan Shiyi founded SOHO China in 1995, which has since become China’s largest commercial real estate developer. They own 56 million square feet in Beijing and Shanghai.
In the U.S., Zhang nabbed headlines early last month for buying a 40 percent stake in the GM Building. Specifically, the families of Zhang and Brazilian banking mogul Moise Safra paid $1.4 billion for the stake, which values the 767 Fifth Avenue property at around $3.4 billion – the country’s most valuable office property.
Despite the success, Zhang, who grew up in poverty, remains tight with her money, and has even had her teenage son apply for jobs at McDonald’s and KFC. [CNN] —Zachary Kussin