Wu Yajun & family (吳亞軍家族) 

The richest self-made woman in the world is a former journalist. Shares in Wu Yanjun's Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Longfor Properties rose by a quarter from a year earlier amid brisk sales growth. Contract sales for 2010 soared 81% from a year earlier to $5 billion. From its roots in Chongqing in central China, Longfor has been expanding in relatively profitable markets in first-tier cites. Founded in Chongqing in 1994, Longfor listed its shares in Hong Kong Nov. 2009. Wu shares her fortune with her husband.