At age 52, Yang Guogiang would have been the richest person in China, had he not transferred all his wealth to his daughter, Yang Huiyan.  Instead the coveted title in a country which often finds itself in the headlines because of financial scandals and pervasive corruption, is held by the 26 year old second daughter of this former brick layer, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $16.2 billion. This fortune also makes her the wealthiest woman in Asia.

 
Yang Guogiang's immense wealth may have come as a surprise to his childhood friends. A lowly cement mixer by profession, he grew up tending cows and working on construction sites because his father lost whatever savings he had in gambling. He apparently never purchased a new shirt until he was 18.

 
Mr. Yang, not given to public declarations of his achievements, started working for a property company at the age of 24.  At 30 he was running the construction team. Ten years later before anyone knew what direction China's market-orientated economic reforms would take, he and several partners began to purchase distressed properties and wasteland.  Starting with 215 acres of farmland, and helped by a stable and prosperous real estate market, he has amassed what is believed to be the fourth largest land bank in China, owning an estimated 18 million sq. meters, most of it in Guangdong province, an area of expanding opportunity.

 
China's economic boom has helped fuel the rise in stock and property prices.  So it is no mere coincidence that Yang's decision to list his real estate company, Country Garden Holdings on the Hong Kong stock market this past April was the primary factor leading to his daughter's becoming the country's richest citizen. 

 
One indication of the ferocious pace of the growth of China's economy, is the rate at which previous holders of the title have been replaced.  Last year's wealthiest businessman, Huang Guangyu, an electrical appliance retailer who owns Gome stores located throughout the country and in Hong Kong, has dropped to tenth place, despite the fact that his net worth grew by more than 50% to $3.6 billion.  This year's list of the 40 richest people in China contains 20 new names.  Apparently property  ownership  is one way of achieving a position on the list.  Numbers 2 + 3 amassed their fortunes in the local real estate industry.

 Forecasting a profit of $ 500 million, Country Garden Holdings is backed by some of the world's leading financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley and UBS. 

 
Ms. Yang traveled to the U.S. to pursue her college education at Ohio University returned home to work in the family business.  She is married to a government official and was her father's obvious choice to take over the business.  As he put it, "Even if I live to 100, I am going to give it to her anyway.  She is family and I have faith in her."