Despite millions using her products daily, Zhou Qunfei, one of the world's richest self-made women, remains to be an unfamiliar name, even though she founded Lens Technology - screen makers of the world's top mobile brands like Samsung and Apple.
In March 2017, Zhou Qunfei reigned supreme as the world's richest self-made woman on Forbes' list, including 56 female billionaires. As of 2024's Bloomberg Billionaire Index, she ranked 264th with a net worth of $9.55 billion.
Forbes currently ranks Zhou Qunfei, one of Asia's 29 self-made women billionaires with a net worth of $9.1 billion, at number 271 on their real-time billionaire list.
Her ascent, however, had its challenges.
From Humble Beginnings To Business Mogul
Born in a small village in central China, Zhou Qunfei faced hardship early on. The New York Times reported that she lost her mother at just five years old, and her father suffered partial blindness and a lost finger in an industrial accident. To help support the family, she was responsible for raising pigs and ducks at a young age.
A recent video by the TikTok account Our Future by Morning Brew (@ourfuturehq), known as the "number one source of business for Gen Z," revealed Zhou Qunfei's surprising start: "Her career began as a migrant worker in a glass factory at just age of 16."
Leaving her factory job at 22, the ambitious Qunfei invested her life savings of $3,000 to launch her own workshop in Hunan. This venture eventually transformed into Lens Technology, a major touchscreen manufacturer now headquartered in Hunan, encompassing research, development, manufacturing, and sales of lens products.
Early on, Qunfei faced challenges from clients who refused to pay their debts. However, she displayed her resourcefulness during the 1997 Asian financial crisis by accepting factory equipment from watchmakers in lieu of payment.
This resourceful solution not only helped her establish one of China's largest glass processing facilities, but it also positioned her company perfectly to supply glass screens to cellphone manufacturers in the early 2000s, the true driver of her billion-dollar success.
Lens Technology And The Rise Of Touchscreens
Lens Technologies bagged contracts with TCL and Motorola and eventually won Steve Jobs' trust to supply the touchscreen for the original iPhone. Today, the Qunfei-led company is still one of its largest suppliers. Additionally, the company serves other tech giants like Samsung and Huawei, making the smartphone industry virtually dependent on it.
Our Future by Morning Brew's TikTok video highlighted that a whopping 75 percent of Lens Technology's $6.6 billion annual revenue comes from just Apple and Samsung, solidifying the company's dominance in the smartphone display market.
@ourfuturehq The Billionaire Behind Your Smartphone Screen 📱💎#iphone #screen #billionaire #apple #storytelling
♬ original sound - Our Future
By 2015, Qunfei had built an impressive empire. She owned a luxurious $27 million estate in Hong Kong and even hosted a visit from China's President Xi Jinping at her company's headquarters. However, despite this success, the NYT report suggests her true passion lies within the heart of her business.
She's not afraid to get her hands dirty. Whether it's dipping her fingers in a water tray to gauge the perfect temperature or explaining the complexities of heating glass in a potassium ion bath, Qunfei demonstrates a deep understanding of her craft.
The Hands-On CEO: Leading By Example
Even while passing a grinding machine, she's likely to nudge technicians aside and temporarily take their place. Qunfei understands the factory floor intimately. Her years spent labouring there instilled a deep knowledge of the operations, a valuable perspective she carries with her to this day.
"She'll sometimes sit down and work as an operator to see if there's anything wrong with the process," said James Zhao, a general manager at Lens Technology. "That will put me in a very awkward position. If there's a problem, she'd say, 'Why didn't you see that?'"
Zhou's years on the factory floor transformed into a multi-billion dollar empire. Her hands-on experience fueled Lens Technology's rise to become a world-class leader in cover glass technology, placing it at the forefront of China's high-end manufacturing sector.
Lens Technology now supplies critical components for laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, including giants like Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy.
Zhou is not alone in shattering stereotypes. Tatyana Bakalchuk, for instance, is the wealthiest woman in Russia, boasting an estimated net worth of $7.4 billion. Her journey began with just $700 invested in an e-commerce site.
Similarly, Liz Wilcox, a 36-year-old single mom, transformed her email skills into a thriving $40,000-a-month business. These are just a few examples of the many remarkable women redefining the business landscape.
