A TOTAL of nine Shenzhen women are listed on the Global Self-Made Women Rich List 2019, a list of the self-made billionaire women around the world, compiled by Hurun Research Institute.

Shenzhen ranks No. 2, following Beijing, among the top five preferred cities for the world’s richest self-made women.

Hurun Research recalculated the individual wealth of some of the women, separating their wealth from that of their spouses.

The richest women in Shenzhen include Zhu Linyao, chairwoman with Huabao Group, Wang Laichun with Luxshare, Wu Chunyuan with AAC Technologies and Li Tan with Hepalink.

Zhu, with a wealth of 20.5 billion yuan (US$3.04 billion), ranks first among the richest women in Shenzhen and 18 in the world. She is followed by Wang Laichun, whose wealth was calculated at 18.5 billion yuan, good for No. 20 in the world.

The list has a total of 89 self-made female billionaire from 16 countries, which is 13 fewer than last year. China topped the list with 51 female entrepreneurs, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

China’s property queen Wu Yajun, 55, takes the title of Richest Self-Made Woman in the World, on the back of a 13-percent rise in wealth to US$9.8 billion.

Wu Yajun is the only self-made woman billionaire among the world’s 20 richest women. The other 19 inherited their wealth.

The number of 89 female self-made billionaires in the world is more than double that of five years ago, but down 13 from last year. Four of the five youngest self-made women billionaires are from China, led by 38-year-old Chinese entertainment investor Wu Yan with US$1.3 billion.

Manufacturing remains the main source of wealth, despite losing six billionaires last year, followed by real estate, retail and the high-tech industry.

The total wealth represented on the list dropped by 12.5 percent, or US$2 trillion, compared to last year.

“A drop of more than 20 percent in the Chinese stock market, combined with a 6 percent depreciation in the Chinese yuan were the main reasons for the large number of Chinese who fell off the list,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at Hurun Report.

Only five of the listed are aged 45 or under, halving last year’s figure. Wu Yan, 38, with Chinese entertainment platform Hakim, is the youngest self-made billionaire, followed by Chen Xiaoying, 43, with express delivery brand Shentong Express. (Han Ximin)